By: Andy Zilch, Bloomington Bison
Bloomington, IL – After missing 21 games to an injury, Danny Katic returned to aid the Bloomington Bison to three power play goals in a 5-2 win against the Kalamazoo Wings on Sunday evening at Grossinger Motors Arena.
Neither team recorded a goal in the first period despite multiple opportunities. The Bison outshot the Wings by a 16-9 margin, including an Eddie Matsushima penalty shot at the 16:31 mark. A Wings’ infraction at 19:16 sent the Bison to a man advantage that carried into the second period.
:54 into the second period, Chongmin Lee snapped a wrist shot in the slot to record his fifth goal of the season on the powerplay. Katic and Carter Berger assisted on Lee’s tally. The Bison powerplay wasn’t done scoring in the second period as Blake McLaughlin roofed a wrist shot to record his eighth of the season at 8:45. Berger recorded his second assist of the night on the goal. Kalamazoo clawed back in the second half of the period with a Ryan Cox goal at 15:08. Max Humitz assisted on Cox’s third goal of the season. 1:04 later, Kalamazoo tied the game at two with a goal from Phil Beaulieu. Zach Okabe and Ben Berard were credited with assists on Beaulieu’s second goal of the year.
The Bison pulled ahead in the third frame with another powerplay goal at 4:56. Josh Boyer found Lee off the faceoff, who ripped a shot to the net. Katic’s deflection guided the puck into the back of the net for his fourth of the season. Later in the frame, with the Wings threatening, Eddie Matsushima extended his point streak to six games with an empty net goal at 18:33. Brett Budgell found the captain for his fourth consecutive game with a point and Matsushima’s eleventh goal of the season. Twenty seconds later, the Bison closed the scoring with a Boyer one-timer from Budgell and Matsushima. Boyer’s third of the year secured the 5-2 win. The game’s conclusion saw several altercations where 72 penalty minutes were assessed in one stoppage.
Mark Sinclair improved his record to 8-6-1 with a 26-save performance. Jonathan Lemieux took the loss with 33 saves on 37 shots. The Bison power play scored three goals in a single game for the first time this season, going 3-for-4. The penalty kill was flawless, going 2-for-2. Bloomington outshot Kalamazoo 38-28.
The Bison travel to Fort Wayne on Tuesday for a New Year’s Eve matchup against the Komets at 6:35 p.m.
The Bison return to Grossinger Motors Arena on Friday, January 3 at 7 p.m. for 309 Night, featuring $3 beers, hot dogs, sodas, $0 popcorn, and a $9 specialty t-shirt. 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.
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