Walleye fall 3-2 to Kalamazoo despite late rally

Toledo's comeback attempt falls short after early two-goal deficit

Jan. 31, 2026 at 10:31pm

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The Toledo Walleye fell into an early 2-0 hole against the Kalamazoo Wings and were unable to fully dig out of it, losing 3-2 at home on Saturday night. Kalamazoo forward Nolan Walker scored a hat trick, while Toledo's Tanner Kelly and Sam Craggs each scored a goal in the losing effort.

Why it matters

The loss drops the Walleye to 24-9-6 on the season, as they were unable to build on their 5-1 win over Kalamazoo the previous night. Toledo's five penalties in the game hampered their comeback attempt, though they did manage to cut the deficit to one goal twice before ultimately falling short.

The details

Kalamazoo jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first period, with Walker scoring both goals. Toledo rookie Tanner Kelly scored in the second period to make it 2-1, but Walker later added a third goal for the hat trick. Toledo's Sam Craggs scored late in the third period to pull the Walleye within one, but they were unable to net the equalizer despite several good chances, including shots that hit the post.

  • Kalamazoo took a 1-0 lead with 6:24 left in the first period.
  • Kalamazoo extended their lead to 2-0 with 2:45 left in the first period.
  • Toledo's Tanner Kelly scored to make it 2-1 with 10:21 left in the second period.
  • Kalamazoo's Nolan Walker completed his hat trick with a goal in the third period.
  • Toledo's Sam Craggs scored to make it 3-2 with 1:47 left in the third period.

The players

Nolan Walker

A Kalamazoo Wings forward who scored a hat trick in the game.

Jonathan Lemieux

The Kalamazoo Wings goaltender who made 33 saves on 35 shots.

Tanner Kelly

A rookie forward for the Toledo Walleye who scored a goal in the game.

Sam Craggs

A veteran forward for the Toledo Walleye who scored a late goal to pull the team within one.

Carter Gylander

The Toledo Walleye goaltender who made 23 saves on 26 shots.

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What they’re saying

“You never want to have five kills. Sometimes it sticks, sometimes it's aggressive play. But I have to take a look [at the penalties] to have a better answer. I thought our kills in the second and third periods were really good. We got some good clears. But I was starting to feel good about our game, and we were generating the opportunities. Credit to them. They played well tonight.”

— Pat Mikesch, Walleye coach

“I saw some open space in the middle of the ice, and anytime you can get to the middle of the ice like that, you create a good chance for yourself. I fired it through some traffic and found the back of the net.”

— Tanner Kelly, Walleye forward

“When we were playing well, we were all over them, and we had that extra urgency at the end of the game. You saw the fight, and we had tons of opportunities. We've just got to put the puck in the net.”

— Sam Craggs, Walleye forward

What’s next

The Walleye will look to bounce back on Sunday when they travel to face the Cincinnati Cyclones.

The takeaway

Despite the loss, the Walleye showed fight in their comeback attempt, cutting a two-goal deficit to one on two occasions. However, the early penalties proved too much to overcome as Kalamazoo held on for the victory.