By: Andy Zilch, Bloomington Bison
Bloomington, Ill. – Mark Sinclair earned the franchise’s first shutout with a 25-save performance as the Bloomington Bison defeated the Kalamazoo Wings 3-0 at Grossinger Motors Arena on Saturday night.
In a scoreless first period, the Bison were awarded two powerplay opportunities in the first period but could not capitalize despite multiple chances. Bloomington outshot the Wings by a 16-7 margin during the frame.
The second period remained scoreless, but the game remained intense. In the same sequence, Chongmin Lee was penalized with a boarding major, and Wings’ defenseman Joseph Arnsten was penalized with a roughing minor. This gave the Wings a three-minute powerplay, which the Bison successfully killed despite sustained pressure. The Wings outshot the Bison by a 13-7 margin, with Sinclair stabilizing the Bison through multiple Wings chances.
A penalty-filled third began with Lee and Josh Bloom dropping the gloves, resulting in another powerplay for the Wings. However, the game remained scoreless. Shortly after, the Bison saw a powerplay. 9:29 Eddie Matsushima stuffed the puck on a rebound to break the scoreless tie. Matsushima’s 14th of the season was assisted by Carter Berger and Brett Budgell. 11:39 into the frame, Josh Boyer and Ted Nichol dropped the gloves, resulting in another Bison powerplay. With seven minutes left, Budgell scored on a slapshot assisted by Berger and Patrick Bajkov. Budgell’s tenth of the season came on the man advantage to give the Bison a 2-0 lead. Further extending the Bison lead, Lee scored on an empty net at 17:41. His seventh of the season came from Matsushima and sealed the victory.
Sinclair secured the win for the Bison to improve his record to 9-6-1. Ty Young made 30 saves on 32 shots for the loss. The Bison went 2-for-4 on the powerplay, and the penalty kill went 2-for-2.
The Bison return to Grossinger Motors Arena on Friday, January 17 at 7 p.m. for 309 Night, featuring $3 beer, 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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