BY: Andy Zilch, Bloomington Bison
Bloomington, Ill. – The Bloomington Bison won the first of a three-game homestand series against the Utah Grizzlies by a 3-1 score on Friday night at Grossinger Motors Arena.
10:08 into the first frame, Jake Murray broke away from the Grizzles defense and netted a backhander, breaking the deadlock and recording his third tally of the season. P.J. Fletcher and Brett Budgell recorded assists, with Budgell extending his point streak to five games. The Bison outshot the Grizzlies by an 11-6 margin in the period.
The second frame saw an offensive frenzy from the Bison, putting up a record 21 shots in a single period. 2:10 into the period, Chongmin Lee extended the Bison lead to two with a rebound goal off a Matt Staudacher slap shot from the blue line. His eighth of the season also came from Eddie Matshushima, who extended his assist streak to four games. After a Bison powerplay, Jared Westcott scored at 13:55, tallying his third of the season. Gavin Gould and Case McCarthy recorded assists to give the Bison a 3-0 lead. A second before the horn blew, Keaton Mastrodonato spoiled the Bison shutout with a powerplay goal and his seventh of his season. Luke Manning and Neil Shea recorded assists on the Utah goal.
The third period maintained the same score throughout the entire 20 minutes. The Grizzlies made an offensive push with two minutes remaining, pulling the goalie for an extra-man advantage and outshooting the Bison by a 15-2 margin. A strong defensive hold from the Bison ended the game with a 3-1 score.
Bison goaltender Yaniv Perets stopped 28 of 29 shots to improve his record to 5-2-1. Jake Barczewski recorded the loss with 31 saves on 34 shots. Bloomington didn’t score on three power play attempts and killed three of four penalties.
The Bison return to Grossinger Motors Arena tomorrow at 7 p.m. for Wizard Night! 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.
