By: Andy Zilch, Bloomington Bison
Kalamazoo, Mich. – The Bloomington Bison began a three-game weekend series against the Kalamazoo Wings with a 5-1 loss on Friday night at Wings Event Center.
Only :13 into the game, Wings forward Quinn Preston opened the scoring by capitalizing on a turnover in front of the Bison net. Zach Okabe and Ben Berard assisted his third of the season. Halfway through the frame, Davis Codd tallied an unassisted goal for his second of the season to give the Wings a 2-0 lead.
Chongmin Lee cut the Wings’ lead in half at 3:06 into the second period with a breakaway goal. His fourth of the year came from Eddie Matsushima and Matt Staudacher. However, the Wings regained the two-goal lead with a tally from Max Humitz at 6:26. Ryan Cox and goaltender Jonathan Lemieux assisted his sixth of the season. After a Bison penalty late in the second, the Wings added to their lead with a power play goal from Berard. His ninth of the season went unassisted to send the Wings into the third period with a 4-1 lead. Despite the deficit, the Bison outshot Kalamazoo 9-4 in the period.
Bloomington attempted to stage a comeback with multiple chances in the third. With nearly seven minutes left, an extra attacker was deployed to give the Bison more scoring pressure. The Wings took advantage of the empty net with a goal from Phil Beaulieu. His first of the season came from Travis Broughman to seal the Wings 5-1 victory.
Mark Sinclair suffered the loss with 16 saves on 20 shots to move his record to 7-6-1. Lemieux stopped 32 shots to improve his record to 7-8-1. Bloomington outshot Kalamazoo 33-21 and went 0-for-3 on the power play and 1-for-2 on the penalty kill.
The Bison will return to Grossinger Motors Arena tomorrow at 7 p.m. for Batman Night, featuring a specialty jersey and live auction following the game! Single-game seats are available starting as low as $20! Group pricing with benefits and suite options are also available. Visit bloomingtonbisonhockey.com or call (309) 965-HERD for more information.
