BISON BATTLE BACK, EARN POINT AGAINST WINGS
BISON BATTLE BACK, EARN POINT AGAINST WINGS
By: Erik Konwinski, Bloomington Bison
Kalamazoo, Mich. – The Bloomington Bison erased a 3-1 deficit in the third period and earned a point but fell 4-3 in a shootout to the Kalamazoo Wings at Wings Event Center Sunday.
Action picked up promptly in the matinee, and the teams traded shots in the game’s first minute. Just over three minutes in, Kalamazoo charged into offensive ice and pressured Bloomington to create back-to-back chances. After a collision between Callum Tung and a defenseman led to an open cage behind the Bison crease, Nikita Sedov blocked what could have been a sure goal. Tung then got his stick on a second chance and kept the game scoreless when the puck bounced to a Wing for another shot on the same play. Near the halfway point of the frame, Eddie Matsushima was stopped point-blank for one of many eventual chances from the Bison captain. Bloomington earned a power play late in the period but could not get extended zone time or capitalize on it, and the game remained scoreless after 20 minutes of play.
Kalamazoo jumped ahead 1-0 with a power-play goal at 5:55 of the middle frame with a shot from the blueline that ended up in the top corner of the net and increased its lead 51 seconds later on a similar play. Brandon Yeamans came up with an answer to get Bloomington on the board at 9:39 from Kohei Sato and Riku Ishida, but penalties would stop the momentum soon after. The Wings scored in the second half of a double-minor high-sticking penalty and retook the two-goal lead with under seven minutes remaining. Bloomington went back to the penalty box twice before the end of the second, and Matsushima was stopped on a shorthanded chance for the best scoring opportunity down the stretch. Kalamazoo took a 3-1 score and a 25-19 shot advantage to the final frame.
Bloomington started the third period controlling the pace of play and did not let up for much of the stanza. Sedov was stopped on a strong backhand bid just over eight and a half minutes in before Cullen Ferguson broke up a Wings odd-man rush the other way. The Bison continued pressuring, and the captain cashed in on a wraparound to bring his team within one goal of Kalamazoo at 13:25. Twenty-three seconds later, Zak Karpa slid in his second goal of the season, from Brenden Datema and Yeamans, to tie the contest. The Bison outshot the Wings 12-6 in the third period.
Tung stopped three shots in overtime, making a full-extension, goal-line save when a Wing slipped past two Bison two minutes in, and later got help from his post. Bloomington took its time out with 64 seconds left on the clock and created a few chances in the final minute. Matsushima was stopped again with four seconds on the clock, and Kalamazoo scored on its first two shots in the ensuing skills competition to defeat Bloomington 4-3. Final shot totals were even at 35 aside.
The Bison return to Grossinger Motors Arena Friday, November 14 at 7 p.m. against the Iowa Heartlanders for a 309 Night featuring $3 Busch Lights, $0 popcorn, and $9 specialty T-shirts! Single-game tickets are now available for ALL Bloomington Bison home games starting as low as $20! Visit ticketmaster.com or call 309-965-HERD to purchase tickets today.
