BISON ORTIZ SHINES IN DEBUT WIN OVER IOWA
ORTIZ SHINES IN BISON DEBUT, BLOOMINGTON DEFEATS IOWA
By: Erik Konwinski, Bloomington Bison
Bloomington, Ill. – Defenseman Chris Ortiz recorded two assists in his team debut and captain Eddie Matsushima scored his 100th career ECHL goal as the Bloomington Bison dispatched the Iowa Heartlanders 3-1 at Grossinger Motors Arena Friday.
The Bison picked up momentum throughout the first period, during which they outshot the Heartlanders 14-8. Bloomington’s penalty kill was tested just over two minutes into the opening frame and Dryden McKay started off strong in his second start since returning to the Bison. The netminder was tested early and deflected away a shot through traffic after sliding across the crease to stop a one-time chance. About six minutes later, Bloomington got its opportunity on the powerplay and took advantage. Brett Budgell scored his second of the season on a shot that trickled through the Iowa goaltender mere seconds after the man-advantage expired. Ortiz registered his first point of the evening with the secondary assist, and Daniel Tedesco earned the primary off a drop pass. Ortiz continued making an impact through the opening period and juked out a Heartlanders defender to set up Parker Gavlas for his second goal. Kyle Jackson extended his team point lead with his twelfth of the season on the play.
Bloomington had numerous opportunities on the powerplay and created many chances that were inches from going in, but Iowa looked to change momentum following a carryover kill. The visitors scored off a broken play from behind the net to get on the scoreboard nearly three minutes into the period. The Bison did not shy away through, and continued their strong play throughout the remainder of the period, finishing with a 13-4 shot advantage. With under three minutes left in the second, the Bison were awarded their third powerplay opportunity, but it was cut short with four-on-four play. The penalty was successfully killed after it carried over into the third period.
Holding onto its one-goal lead, Bloomington sought to add onto the score after getting a powerplay chance one minute into the final frame. Nikita Sedov had the best chance and rang a blast of a shot off the post. The Bison ended perfect on the penalty kill, killing off all four instances against the Iowa powerplay that came into the game with an over-30% success rate. Iowa came close to tying the game with a shot that stuck to the side of the net after the pulled their goaltender for an extra attacker, but soon after, Sedov tossed a saucer pass to Matsushima who scored with less than 10 seconds remaining.
McKay earned his first win since being acquired by the Bison and saved 19 of 20 shots he faced.
The teams will rematch Saturday in Iowa at Xtream Arena when the puck drops at 6 p.m.
Bloomington returns to home ice on Black Friday, November 28, against Iowa 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.
