Toledo Walleye fall to Kalamazoo

KALAMAZOO, Mich. -- Forward Riley Emmerson scored his first goal as a Walleye, but Toledo could not stop first-place Kalamazoo, falling 3-1 to the K-Wings on Wednesday afternoon.

Toledo is 23-25-2-2 on the season and 11-13-2-0 away from home.

The Walleye outshot the Wings 28-23 but could not find the net again after Emmerson scored on an assist from Paul Zanette at 9:19 in the first period.

Kalamazoo answered with two goals in the second period, with Mike Matczak scoring on a power play and a then a shot by Taylor Ellington.

A late charge from Toledo was fruitless, and Kalamazoo's Kory Karlander collected an empty net goal late in the game to seal the victory.

“The thing we preached today to our team was to compete for a full sixty minutes,” Walleye Coach Nick Vitucci said. “For the most part we did that, we just couldn’t get anything past Clermont.”

Notes: Walleye goaltender Alec Richards finished with 20 saves and has a record of 5-2-0-0 on the season.

The Walleye return home to Huntington Center on Friday night and Saturday night to play the Wheeling Nailers. Toledo hosts Chicago on Sunday with a 4 p.m. game.