Cincinnati collected over 10,000 teddy bears off the ice, but could only gain a point by falling to the Walleye in OT.
The Cincinnati Cyclones were hoping to pick up a victory on Teddy Bear Toss Night Saturday at Heritage Bank Center.
While they collected lots of stuffed animals off the ice, it was the Toledo Walleye who came away with a 2-1 overtime victory in front of 10,718 fans.
The game was a goaltender’s duel between Cincy’s Jon Gillies and the Walleye’s Jan Bednar. The first goal didn’t come until 12:10 left in the second period, when Brandon Hawkins notched his 25th goal of the season for a 1-0 Walleye lead.
Toledo had a chance to capitalize on an extended power play after the Cyclones went down two men. Cincy held firm and was able to kill off both.
Cincinnati couldn’t capitalize on several power-play chances of their own. Finally, Kyle Bollers gave the fans what they had been waiting for, knotting the game 1-1 in the third period.
All the teddy bears would go to Cincinnati Police, Fire and Matthew 25 Ministries for children in need.
The game went into overtime, with Tyler Spezia getting the game-winner with 30 seconds left in the extra period.
The Walleye won their third game of the season against Cincinnati. Despite making 26 saves of 28 shots, Gillies took the loss.