BISON DOWN WINGS WITH JACKSON SCORING THREE
By: Erik Konwinski, Bloomington Bison
Bloomington, Ill – Kyle Jackson scored a hat trick to lead the Bloomington Bison to a 5-1 win over the Kalamazoo Wings at Grossinger Motors Arena Saturday. Jackson’s hat-trick was the first natural hat-trick in team history and the first by a Bison player on home ice.
The physicality from Friday night’s tilt carried over to the start of the game, and the Bison surrendered slot shots and an odd-man rush early. Bloomington would get a power play chance near the middle of the frame, but strong Kalamazoo defense limited the shot opportunities and drew a penalty. After a successful penalty kill, the Bison broke through first in back-to-back nights, and the Teddy Bear Toss commenced. Nikita Sedov gloved the puck out of the air and faked out a defender before feeding Jackson, who deked the goaltender and netted his seventh of the season. After allowing a last-minute goal in the first period on Friday, Bloomington responded with one of its own on Saturday. Zakary Karpa passed the puck along the boards to Brendan Datema, and Datema took a shot that ricocheted off the netminder. The puck bounced right to Jackson, and he made no mistake, potting his second of the evening.
Hugo Ollas was strong in his return to the Bloomington net and turned away all eight shots he faced in the first, including two timely saves late in the frame. Within the final 30 seconds, the Swedish backstop negated an odd-man rush and stonewalled subsequent stuff attempts. The Bison took a 2-0 lead and a slight shot edge into the middle stanza.
Bloomington kept pressure on early, having a notable rebound attempt swept away, but the Wings got their second power-play chance just over four minutes in. For the second time in the game, the Bison picked up another goal following a successful kill. Jackson cleaned up a rebound for the hat trick, and Sullivan Mack and Parker Gavlas earned the assists. Around the halfway mark, Ollas fought off blue-line shots through traffic to keep the Bison up by three goals. Another Bloomington penalty led to the third Wings power play, but an offensive mindset helped the Bison extend their lead with a shorthanded goal. Brett Budgell knocked the puck out of the Bison end and out-hustled his opposition to pick it up at the Wings’ blue line before sneaking in a five-hole goal to give the home squad a 4-0 edge. Kalamazoo made a goaltending change after the fourth goal with 5:45 left in the second. The visitors got on the board with a minute to play in the period, cutting Bloomington’s lead to 4-1 heading to the final frame.
The Bison responded early in the third off a giveaway that Shane Ott forced in the neutral zone. He then skipped around a lone defenseman and sniped in the 5-1 goal over the blocker from between the circles. Each team had another power-play opportunity, and the shorthanded crews remained in control. Ollas stopped 28 of the 29 shots he faced in his return to the Bloomington crease. His last start before Saturday was on November 1.
The Bison and Wings face off for the third straight time at 6:00 p.m. in Kalamazoo on Wednesday before returning home for a three-game weekend.
Join the Bison and WWE Hall of Famer Jeff Jarrett on Wrestling Night Friday, December 12! All Friday home games at Grossinger Motors Arena are 309 Nights 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.
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