ANDY ZILCH NAMED PRESIDENT OF BLOOMINGTON BISON
By: Andy Zilch, Bloomington Bison
Bloomington, Ill. – Hallett Sports and Entertainment CEO Sean Hallett announced today that Andy Zilch has been named the President of the Bloomington Bison.
Zilch has 14 years of experience in professional hockey and has an array of front office experience ranging from corporate partnership sales, ticket sales, community relations communications and marketing responsibilities. He joined the Bison in September and served as the Director of Media Relations and Broadcasting while calling all 36 home games on FloSportsTV and the Bison Audio Network.
“We are proud to bring Andy into this role to help continue the local impact of the Bison within the community,” said Hallett. “His experience and leadership qualities will be an asset to the growth of our organization. We are looking forward to him building on the relationships he has created since the inaugural season began.”
He previously worked in the AHL for nine seasons between the San Diego Gulls, Utica Comets and Springfield Falcons. While with the Gulls, he was the play-by-play broadcaster for all games and digital content producer and host for the team’s social media channels and television show. During his tenure with the Comets, he negotiated multiple corporate partnership deals while overseeing the Jr. Comets mentorship program and serving as the Director of Communications and the voice of the Comets for all games. In his two seasons with the Springfield Falcons, Zilch generated corporate partnership deals, sold season ticket memberships, coordinated nearly 60 community events and broadcasted all games.
“I am honored to be selected for this responsibility to continue our community and economic impact in the Bloomington/Normal area,” Zilch added. “I thank Sean and Jim Hallett along with Larry McQueary for their trust with such an important role with the organization. I look forward to leading our wonderful staff and achieving goals to become a staple in the community for years to come.”
The St. Louis native began his professional career in the ECHL with the Greenville Road Warriors in 2012 where he was tasked as the Media Relations Manager and was responsible for ticket revenue. Over the summer of 2014, he finished first of seven sales executives in full, half and partial ticket memberships. In addition, he finished among seven sales executives over the 2013-14 regular season in memberships and group sales. He also negotiated budget-reliving trade arrangements for two consecutive years as well as broadcasted every regular season game.
Zilch has displayed a strong passion for community involvement over his career. This past season, he made visits to local youth hockey practices as well as elementary schools in the area. He has volunteered for charities and participated in community events such as the Habitat for Humanity, the Shriner’s Hospital, the Western Mass Sled Hockey Team and at elementary schools focusing on PARP (Parents as Reading Partners) to encourage young students the importance of reading.
Before his professional career, Zilch earned a bachelor’s degree in 2009 at Lindenwood University.
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BISON FINAL SEASON INTERVIEWS
By: Andy Zilch, Bloomington Bison
Final season interviews with Head Coach Phillip Barski, team captain Eddie Matsushima, forward Jonny Evans, forward Gavin Gould, defenseman Jake Murray, and goaltender Yaniv Perets.
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BISON CLOSE INAUGURAL SEASON WITH SHOOTOUT WIN
By: Andy Zilch, Bloomington Bison
Fort Wayne, Ind. – The Bloomington Bison overcame a two-goal deficit in the third period to defeat the Fort Wayne Komets by a 4-3 score on Sunday night at the Memorial Coliseum.
The Komets opened the scoring with Blake Murray potting a one-timer at 7:09 for his 17th of the year from Josh Groll. Murray added another at 13:13 from Tyler Inamoto and Harrison Rees. His 18th of the year and second of the night ended the scoring in the period with the Komets outshooting the Bison by a 22-4 margin.
The second period saw no scoring with the Bison unable to convert on a power play. The Bison outshot the Komets 7-6 in the frame.
The third period saw no scoring until 15:18 when Brett Budgell tallied his 14th of the year on the power play. His net front goal came from Shane Ott and Carter Berger. One minute later, Budgell tied the game on a shorthanded rush from Gavin Gould and Matt Staudacher. His 15th of the season and second of the game tied the score at two. With 1:07 remaining, the Komets regained the lead with a power play goal from Jack Gorniak. His 18th of the season was assisted by Alex Aleardi and Kirill Tyutyayev. However, with :12 remaining, Chongmin Lee tied the game again with his 22nd of the season on a one-timer. Budgell and Ott assisted on the goal to bring the game to overtime.
Each team had three shots in the overtime but no one could find the back the net as the game extended to a shootout. Each team had three shooters but only Lee could score with a highlight reel goal. Yaniv Perets made three saves in the shootout to send the Bison to victory in a shootout for the first time this season.
Perets stopped 37 of 40 shots to earn the victory. Brett Brochu made 23 saves on 26 shots in the loss. The Bison power play went 1-for-3 while the penalty kill went 3-for-4.
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BISON FALL SHORT AGAINST KOMETS
By: Andy Zilch, Bloomington Bison
Fort Wayne, Ind. – The Bloomington Bison suffered a 3-1 loss on Saturday night against the Fort Wayne Komets at the Memorial Coliseum.
The Bison opened the scoring with a power play goal from Chongmin Lee. His 21st of the season came on a one-timer from Shane Ott with Jake Murray collecting the secondary assist. 2:02 later, the Komets tied the game with a breakaway goal from Zach Jordan. His eighth of the season came from Matt Murphy and Blake Murray. The Komets were awarded a power play at 15:34 that saw a flurry of shots but were shut down by Dryden McKay. The game carried into the second period tied at one with the Komets outshooting the Bison 18-7.
The second period opened with Fort Wayne grabbing a 2-1 lead on the power play. James Stefan fired a one-timer for his fifth of the year from Jack Dugan and Owen Gallatin at 4:50 of the second stanza. The score carried through the remainder of the second with Fort Wayne outshooting Bloomington 11-3 in the frame.
The Bison pushed back in the third period with sustained offensive pressure and multiple scoring chances. The Komets kept the Bison off the scoreboard even with an extra attacker in the closing minutes. Stefan sealed the game capitalizing on the empty net for his sixth of the season and second of the night. The goal was assisted by Nick Deakin-Poot to give the Komets a 3-1 victory.
McKay stopped 34 of 36 shots in the loss. Nathaniel Day made 18 saves on 19 shots to earn the victory. The Bison power play went 1-for-1 while the penalty kill went 1-for-2.
The Bison close out the regular season tomorrow in Fort Wayne at 4 p.m. Coverage begins at 3:45 p.m. on FloSports TV and the Bison Audio Network.
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BISON CLAIM FORWARD BRANDON YEAMANS
By: Andy Zilch, Bloomington Bison
Bloomington, Ill. – Bloomington Bison General Manager and Head Coach Phillip Barski, announced today the team has claimed forward Brandon Yeamans off waivers.
Yeamans, 26, has totaled 46 games this season between the Iowa Heartlanders and the Norfolk Admirals amassing nine points (five goals and four assists) with 100 penalty minutes.
The Maple, Ontario native has totaled 159 career ECHL games between the Admirals, Heartlanders, Allen Americans, Jacksonville Icemen, Florida Everblades and Cincinnati Cyclones. He has totaled 27 points (16 goals and 11 assists) with 349 penalty minutes.
The 5-foot-10, 174-pound forward played with York University before turning pro. He totaled seven points (five goals, two assists) and 12 penalty minutes over two seasons.
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BISON ELIMINATED FROM PLAYOFF CONTENTION WITH LOSS
By: Andy Zilch, Bloomington Bison
Fishers, Ind. – The Bloomington Bison suffered a 5-1 loss to the Indy Fuel on Wednesday night at Fishers Event Center to end the team’s postseason hopes.
Lucas Brenton opened the scoring 3:12 into the game with his fourth of the season. The goal was assisted by Colin Bilek and Cam Hausinger. The Fuel extended their lead on the power play with :40 remaining in the period. Burke tallied his 20th of the season from Bilek and Bryan Lemos. That closed the scoring in the period with Indy outshooting Bloomington 13-1.
7:23 into the second period, Darby Llewellyn scored on a breakaway while shorthanded. His 11th of the season came from Jordan Martin. The Bison had a power play late in the second and fired seven shots on Ben Gaudreau but couldn’t find the scoreboard as the Fuel took a 3-0 lead into the third. The Bison outshot Indy 12-9 in the frame.
Matus Spodniak opened the third period scoring at 4:41 with his sixth of the season. Martin and Spencer Cox assisted on the goal. Patriks Marcinkevics broke the shutout bid with his eighth of the season on a wrist shot. Mikael Robidoux and Jake Murray assisted to bring the game to a 4-1 score. In the closing minutes, the Bison pulled the goaltender for the extra attacker. Ty Farmer took advantage to score his seventh of the season from Hausinger with 1:31 remaining. The goal sealed Indy’s 5-1 victory.
Yaniv Perets made 27 saves on 31 shots. Gaudreau stopped 16 of 17 shots in the victory. The Bison went 0-for-3 on the power play and 3-for-4 on the penalty kill.
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BISON WIN LAST REGULAR SEASON HOME GAME
By: Andy Zilch, Bloomington Bison
Bloomington, Ill. – The Bloomington Bison sealed a 4-3 victory over the Kalamazoo Wings on Sunday evening at Grossinger Motors Arena.
In a goal-filled first period, the Bison opened the scoring at 4:40 as Brett Budgell scored on a rebound from Bryce Montgomery. Maxim Barbashev collected the secondary assist on Budgell’s 13th of the season. At 11:45, Luke Morgan scored his fifth of the season from the crease. Collin Saccoman collected the assist to even the score at one. On a Montgomery pass, Lou-Félix Denis regained the lead with a snapshot goal for his 12th of the season at 13:52. With 1:33 remaining, Zach Okabe’s 18th of the season evened the score once again. Saccoman and Josh Bloom tallied the assists. With 14 seconds left in the period, Jake Murray and Spencer Kennedy dropped the gloves to receive fighting majors. In addition, Kennedy received a game misconduct and a two-minute penalty.
The Bison capitalized early in the second on the powerplay. Patriks Marcinkevics scored in the slot giving the Bison a 3-2 lead at 1:24. Carter Berger and Dryden McKay secured the assists for Marcinkevics’s seventh of the season. At 18:44, Chongmin Lee’s wrist shot extended the Bison lead to 4-2. Lee’s 20th of the season came from Murray and Josh Boyer.
The third period saw no scoring until 17:56. With the extra attacker, Zach Berzolla found Bloom for his 18th of the season. Davis Pennington claimed the secondary assist. Despite a late surge from the Wings, the Bison secured a 4-3 victory to conclude the third frame.
Dryden McKay made 43 saves on 46 shots for the win. Ty Young took the loss for Kalamazoo with 31 saves on 35 shots. The Bison powerplay went 1-for-2, and the penalty kill went 2-for-2.
The Bison face off against the Indy Fuel at 6 p.m. on Wednesday at Fishers Event Center. Pregame coverage begins at 5:45 p.m. on FloSports TV and The Bison Audio Network.
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CHONGMIN LEE’S THREE-POINT NIGHT NOT ENOUGH AS BISON LOSE IN REGULATION
By: Andy Zilch, Bloomington Bison
Bloomington, Ill. – Despite Chongmin Lee’s three-point night, the Bloomington Bison suffered a 5-3 loss to the Kalamazoo Wings at Grossinger Motors Arena on Saturday night.
The first period saw no scoring. With one powerplay, the Bison could not capitalize on the man advantage. Kalamazoo outshot the Bison by a 10-5 margin to conclude the first frame.
4:36 into the second period, Josh Bloom opened the scoring on the powerplay. Zach Berzolla and Ben Berard collected the assists on Bloom’s 17th of the season. The Wings extended their lead at 12:29. Luke Morgan found Max Humitz in the slot to make it a 2-0 score. Luc Salem recorded the secondary assist on Humitz’s 15th of the season. The Bison responded on the powerplay as Lee began a comeback for the Bison. At 15:15, Shane Ott found Lee for his 18th goal of the season. Jake Murray tallied the secondary assist. With less than 30 seconds remaining, Bryce Montgomery scored his second of the season to even the score at two. The goal came from Murray and Lee.
3:55 into the third, a snapshot from Lee gave the Bison a 3-2 lead. Jack Robilotti tallied the assist for his first professional point on Lee’s 19th of the season. At 7:41 on the powerplay, Kalamazoo’s Ryan Cox snuck the puck past Yaniv Perets for the equalizer. Cox’s ninth of the season saw assists from Bloom and Drake Pilon. The Wings regained the lead at 10:14 with Humitz scoring on a feed from Berzolla. Humitz’s goal was his 16th of the season and the eventual game winner. At 19:45, Berard scored an empty net goal assisted by Berzolla for his 20th of the season and closed the scoring with the Wings winning 5-3.
Perets made 41 saves on 45 shots in the loss. Jonathan Lemieux secured the win for Kalamazoo with 26 saves on 29 shots. The Bison went 1-for-3 on the powerplay, and the penalty kill went 1-for-3.
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BISON SUFFER LOSS TO WALLEYE
By: Andy Zilch, Bloomington Bison
Bloomington, Ill. – The Bloomington Bison saw their home winning streak end with a 4-1 loss against the Toledo Walleye on Friday night at Grossinger Motors Arena.
5:35 into the first period, Toledo took an early lead behind Cole Gallant’s ninth goal of the season. Conlan Keenan and Billy Moskal recorded assists on the opening goal of the night. Continuing the early offensive start, Josh Nodler added another to the Walleye lead at the 6:03 mark. Will Hillman and Peyton Hoyt recorded assists on Nodler’s second goal of the season. The Bison were held scoreless in the first frame despite totaling 11 shots.
The second frame mirrored the first, with Toledo striking early in the period at 3:53. During a powerplay, Mitchell Lewandowski extended the Walleye lead to 3-0 with his 24th goal of the season. Brandon Hawkins and Jed Pietila recorded assists. The Walleye scoring continued at the 6:20 mark, with Brandon Kruse giving Toledo a 4-0 lead. Sam Craggs recorded the assist on Kruse’s eighth goal of the season to end the scoring in the period.
Following a penalty that rolled over from the end of the second period, Lou-Félix Denis recorded his 11th goal of the season with a shot from the slot. Patriks Marcinkevics tallied his first point as a Bison with an assist, and Carter Berger recorded the secondary assist. For the final three and half minutes of the period, the Bison pulled the goalie for an extra attacker. Despite the effort, the Bison were unable to record another goal and lost 4-1.
Dryden McKay stopped 23 of 27 shots in the loss. Carter Gylander recorded the win with 33 saves. Bloomington went 1-for-2 on the power play and killed one of two penalties.
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BISON ANNOUNCE DETAILS FOR FAN APPRECIATION NIGHT
By: Andy Zilch, Bloomington Bison
Bloomington, Ill. – Bloomington Bison President & CEO Larry McQueary announced today the details for Fan Appreciation Night this Saturday at Grossinger Motors Arena.
Fan Fest will begin the festivities from 3:30 p.m. – 5:30 p.m. inside Grossinger Motors Arena along the corridor of the concourse. A ticket to the game is required for entry to Fan Fest. Re-entry will be allowed until 5:30 p.m.
Fans can enjoy the Bison inflatable goal, free face painting, cornhole, and Professional Magician Chris Walde. A local country artist, Aaron Newsome, will be performing from 4 p.m. – 5 p.m. The concourse setup features a beer garden, cocktail bar and 12 local vendor booths. Sodas and water will be available for purchase as well. Food trucks from Tony’s Tacos, A to Z Catering, Tony’s Soul Food, and Butcher Block Burger Shop will be setup directly along the north entrance with ability to bring the food into the arena. Fan Fest will conclude with Bison General Manager and Head Coach, Phillip Barski, addressing the fans.
The first 1,200 fans, beginning at 3:30 p.m., will receive an Abe Bobblehead. In addition, fans will receive a raffle ticket to be entered to win prizes such as food giveaways from local partners, gift cards to local restaurants, an overnight stay in the executive suite at local hotels, tickets to Sesame Street Live, Bison autographed memorabilia, and authentic Bison jerseys.
Throughout the weekend, an Inaugural Season banner will be available at section 108 for fans to sign. Following the game, fans can bid on the season-worn jerseys during a live auction. Winning bidders will get their photograph taken with the player and receive the autographed jersey following the conclusion of the season.
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BISON SIGN PATRIKS MARCINKEVICS
By: Andy Zilch, Bloomington Bison
Bloomington, Ill. – Bloomington Bison General Manager and Head Coach, Phillip Barski, announced today that the team has signed forward Patriks Marcinkevics to an ECHL standard player contract.
Marcinkevics, 23, skated in 33 games this season with the Atlanta Gladiators posting 20 points (six goals, 14 assists) with a +5 rating. Additionally, he appeared in seven SPHL games with the Macon Mayhem collecting five points (one goal, four assists) with 30 penalty minutes.
The Riga, Latvia native dressed in six games last season with the Utah Grizzlies tallying three assists. He also totaled 23 SPHL games last season between the Roanoke Rail Yard Dawgs and the Quad City Storm amassing 25 points (seven goals, 18 assists) and a +9 rating.
Prior to turning pro, the 5-foot-9, 168-pound forward appeared in 29 NCAA games between Michigan Tech and Long Island University posting 29 points (seven goals, 22 assists) with 27 penalty minutes.
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BISON SUFFER LOSS IN WHEELING
By: Andy Zilch, Bloomington Bison
Wheeling, W. Va. – The Bloomington Bison allowed two power play goals and fell to the Wheeling Nailers by a 3-2 score at WesBanco Arena on Sunday evening.
Josh Boyer opened the scoring 7:32 into the game with a wrist shot at the top of the faceoff circle. Eddie Matsushima assisted on the goal by forcing a turnover. The tally was the lone goal of the period to give the Bison a 1-0 lead heading into the second period.
The Nailers tied the game at 12:20 of the second period with a goal from Jordan Martel. His 14th of the season came on the power play from Jack Beck and Isaac Belliveau. The score remained tied throughout the rest of the period with Wheeling outshooting Bloomington by a 27-22 margin.
5:44 into the third, Mats Lindgren tallied a power play goal to give Wheeling a 2-1 lead. Lindgren’s sixth of the season was assisted by Chase Pietila and Logan Pietila. With 7:01 remaining, Matty De St. Phalle scored his 20th of the season to extend the Wheeling lead. The goal came from Matthew Quercia and Beck. Carter Berger brought the Bison within one on a rebound goal for his eight of the year at 15:29. The goal came from Ryan Siedem and Matsushima. Despite a late push, the Bison were unable to find the net again and lost 3-2.
Dryden McKay turned aside 28 of 31 shots in the loss. Thomas Gale made 32 saves on 34 shots in the victory. Bloomington’s power play went 0-for-3 while the penalty kill went 1-for-3.
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BISON COMEBACK FALLS SHORT
By: Andy Zilch, Bloomington Bison
Fort Wayne, Ind. – The Bloomington Bison tallied two third period goals but suffered a 3-2 loss on Satruday night against the Fort Wayne Komets at the Memorial Coliseum.
2:36 into the game, the Komets opened the scoring with a goal from Noah Ganske. His third of the season came from Kirill Tyutyayev and Matt Murphy. The Bison were awarded a power play :10 after the goal but could not convert. With :26 remaining in the opening frame, Nolan Volcan scored his ninth of the year to give Fort Wayne a 2-0 lead. Zach Jordan and Anthony Petruzzelli assisted on the goal to close the scoring in the period.
The second period opened with Fort Wayne grabbing a 3-0 lead. 1:14 into the frame, Tyutyayev scored his eighth of the year from Jack Gorniak and Jack Dugan. The rest of the period saw no scoring with Fort Wayne outshooting the Bison 16-6.
Max Neill got the Bison on the board to begin the third period. His fourth of the season came from the top of the circle on a snap shot. The goal was assisted by Chongmin Lee and Jake Murray. 2:04 later, Neill added another goal on a deflection from Connor Lockhart. The goal came on the power play and was also assisted by Shane Ott. The Bison were awarded a five-minute power play late in the game but could not convert. The score remained 3-2 favoring the Komets as the final horn sounded.
Kasimir Kaskisuo stopped 29 of 32 shots in the loss. Connor Ungar made 25 saves on 27 shots to earn the victory. The Bison power play went 1-for-2 while the penalty kill went 3-for-3.
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BISON EXTEND HOME WINNING STREAK IN OVERTIME
By: Andy Zilch, Bloomington Bison
Bloomington, Ill. – Chongmin Lee’s overtime goal and Dryden McKay’s 43-save performance propelled the Bloomington Bison over the Fort Wayne Komets in a 2-1 victory at Grossinger Motors Arena on Friday night.
The first period saw no scoring from either team despite 24 combined shots. Fort Wayne outshot the Bison by a 16-8 margin in the opening frame.
With a powerplay rolling over from the first stanza, Eddie Matsushima found the back of the net 1:13 into the second period on a rebound from Johny Evans. Lou-Félix Denis recorded the secondary assist on Matsushima’s 27th tally of the season. The Komets would respond 16:22 into the frame, with Blake Murray burying his 16th goal of the season. Alex Aleardi and Matt Murphy recorded assists on the Komets’ equalizing goal.
The third frame mirrored the first period with no goals from either team. There were no penalties committed in the third and the Bison outshot the Komets by a 13-11 margin. Each team had great scoring chances, but the goaltending duel sent the game to extra time.
3:02 into overtime, Chongmin Lee ended the game with a wrist shot from the slot. Matsushima and Ryan Siedem recorded assists on Lee’s 17th goal of the season and second straight overtime game winning goal on home ice. The win extended the Bison’s home win streak to four games.
McKay saw 44 shots and recorded the win. Connor Ungar recorded the loss with 32 saves on 34 shots. Bloomington went 1-for-2 on the power play and killed all three penalties.
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