BISON DROP CLOSE GAME TO KOMETS
By: Erik Konwinski, Bloomington Bison
Fort Wayne, Ind. – Nikita Sedov extended his point streak to five games, and the Bloomington Bison fired 20 shots on net in the third period but fell 3-2 in a spirited game against the Fort Wayne Komets at the Memorial Coliseum on Saturday evening.
For a second-straight night against the Komets, Bloomington allowed five of the first six shots of the game, and while on a delayed penalty, Hugo Ollas stopped a breakaway chance to keep things scoreless early. Less than a minute into the penalty kill, the Bison netminder then made an aggressive save and kept the puck moving to send Zak Karpa on a breakaway. With Fort Wayne’s netminder out of position after making the initial stop, Bloomington was then denied a shot into a nearly empty net by a defenseman’s stick. On the following sequence, Fort Wayne rifled in a top-shelf goal from the left faceoff dot to take a 1-0 lead at 7:07 as the penalty expired. Karpa, who secured Bloomington’s victory with an empty-net goal on Friday, continued to create chances, and a wraparound attempt led to a slot-shot by Chongmin Lee that was turned aside near the halfway mark. Ollas was tested again and remained composed, but 17 seconds after the Komets drew another power play, they snuck in the 2-0 goal at 14:49. Fifteen seconds after falling behind by a pair of goals, the Bison earned their first power play of the game. It gave the visitors momentum, but they would not find success on the man-advantage until later. Mikael Robidoux and Sedov orchestrated a give-and-go play with two minutes left in the period but were denied, and with 62 seconds left, Bloomington drew another penalty. The Bison peppered Fort Wayne’s net and had multiple Grade-A opportunities, but were held off the scoreboard.
Fifty-eight seconds of the previous call carried over into the middle frame, and less than four minutes after it expired, the Bison earned another power play. Four-on-four hockey followed, thanks to further undisciplined play by both squads, and when full strength finally resumed, Fort Wayne increased its lead again. The Komets redirected a shot from the boards to jump ahead 3-0 with over eight minutes left in the period, but the Bison were set up for their fourth power play of the evening 26 seconds later. Ayden MacDonald nearly got his team on the board with a backhand stuff at the conclusion of the penalty, and before Fort Wayne got possession, they were assessed a tripping minor to give the Bison another five-on-four. With exactly five minutes on the clock, Sedov sailed in a slap shot from Lee and Sullivan Mack to give Bloomington life. Less than two minutes later, Mikhail Abramov scored his first ECHL goal to bring the Bison within one goal of tying the game after Lou-Felix Denis and Robidoux stampeded up the ice. Through 40 minutes of play, Bloomington remained down 3-2 but was set to dominate chances in the third period.
The Bison mounted pressure from the drop of the puck and spent most of the final frame in Fort Wayne’s defensive zone. The first chance against came nearly nine minutes in when Ollas was tasked with another breakaway save. Minutes prior, Denis had a backhand shot stopped point-blank. Bloomington’s netminder continued to move the puck when he had opportunities to, and set up rushes into the offensive zone. With just over five minutes left, Mack slammed an attempt wide of the net, and MacDonald was stonewalled to bring up a whistle. The Komets were called for another penalty on the sequence, and Shane Ott pinged the goal post about a minute later. The Bison onslaught carried through to the final horn, and three more chances were turned aside as time expired. Despite having an extra attacker out for the dying 87 seconds of the game and outshooting Fort Wayne 20-6 in the third, Bloomington was tabbed with the loss.
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BISON BURN KOMETS 5-2
By: Erik Konwinski, Bloomington Bison
Fort Wayne, Ind. – Dryden McKay made 37 saves and the powerplay scored three times as the Bloomington Bison defeated the Fort Wayne Komets 5-2 at the Memorial Coliseum on Friday evening.
Bloomington surrendered the first five shots of the game and McKay fended off a tip-play rebound at the top of his crease three minutes in before a Bison powerplay broke up the Komets momentum. Ayden MacDonald came away with the best chance on the man-advantage when he tipped the puck inches wide of the net with 45 seconds remaining in the opportunity, and moments after five-on-five hockey resumed, Bloomington was assessed a high-sticking infraction. Seven ticks into its first power play, Fort Wayne scored on a set passing play to take a 1-0 lead at 6:23 of the opening period. Sixty-four seconds after the icebreaking goal, the Bison were awarded another powerplay and Fort Wayne fended off a Sullivan Mack attempt and pressure in front of the net to stay ahead on the scoreboard. McKay was tested again with about seven minutes left when he denied a wraparound attempt with his right pad and quickly stopped an effort on the other side of the cage with his left to keep Bloomington within one goal of tying the game. After stopping a Komets surge, the Bison earned a third power play with under three and a half minutes left. They generated multiple chances to eventually take a lead in the shot column, but continued to be stymied on the scoreboard. Zak Karpa created last-minute chaos for the Komets after stealing the puck in neutral ice and leading one last rush for Bloomington, but time expired, and the visiting team went to the intermission up 13-9 in shots, but down 1-0 where it mattered most.
The Bison continued their pressure generated down the stretch of the first period to begin the middle frame, and less than a minute in, Lou-Felix Denis tied the game. After Denis won a faceoff in his own zone, Mikael Robidoux powered the puck out the far side with a man on his back. After gaining neutral ice, he pushed it forward to Mikhail Abramov, who finished the give-and-go with Denis. Two minutes later, Chongmin Lee drew a tripping penalty and Mack cashed in on Bloomington’s fourth powerplay of the game from Nikita Sedov and Denis to gain a 2-1 lead at 4:02. Less than 90 seconds later the Bison went back to the powerplay and Mark Kaleinikovas slammed in his third powerplay goal against Fort Wayne this season to increase the lead at 7:32. Just after the halfway point of regulation, Mack blasted home his second powerplay goal of the period from Kaleinikovas and Shane Ott, and Bloomington went up 4-1 at 10:04. The Bison were assessed a double-minor penalty for high-sticking at 11:51, and McKay made more stops to keep Fort Wayne off the board. Before the second of the penalties could take full effect, however, the Komets were called for another infraction and scored a four-on-four goal with four minutes and 15 seconds remaining in the period.
Early in the third, Bloomington looked to add to its lead, and Kaleinikovas set himself up for a breakaway just 96 seconds in after blocking a shot but was thwarted by the goaltender’s glove. Despite the quick surge, twelve of the final 16 shots in the game came from the Komets, and McKay continued his favorable play, turning aside all 14 shots faced in the frame. Brenden Datema blocked a point-blank shot with six minutes left, and later in the same sequence, Sedov dove to deny a two-on-one passing play across the defensive zone. Karpa punctuated the game with an empty-net goal at 18:07, and Bloomington scored five goals for a second-straight game, and won its third in a row.
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POSTPONED GAMES RESCHEDULED
By: Erik Konwinski, Bloomington Bison
Bloomington, Ill. – Bloomington Bison President Andy Zilch announced today schedule changes for the 2025-26 ECHL Regular Season, which include the rescheduling of December’s postponed games.
The Bison will now visit the Iowa Heartlanders on Wednesday, April 15, and host Iowa at Grossinger Motors Arena on Friday, April 17, for a 309 Night, and Saturday, April 18, for SpongeBob Night.
In addition, Bloomington’s game at Greenville on Saturday, April 11, which was originally slated to be a 3:05 p.m. CT puck drop, will now begin at 6:05 p.m. CT
CONFIRMED SCHEDULE CHANGES:
Saturday, April 11, 2026 – at Greenville Swamp Rabbits (6:05 p.m. CT)
Wednesday, April 15, 2026 – at Iowa Heartlanders (7:00 p.m. CT)
Friday, April 17, 2026 – vs. Iowa Heartlanders (7:00 p.m. CT)
Saturday, April 18, 2026 – vs. Iowa Heartlanders (7:00 p.m. CT)
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McKAY, BISON BLANK CYCLONES
By: Erik Konwinski, Bloomington Bison
Bloomington, Ill. – Dryden McKay recorded a 34-save shutout and Lou-Felix Denis scored two power-play goals in a 5-0 Bloomington Bison win over the Cincinnati Cyclones at Grossinger Motors Arena on Saturday evening.
Intense physical play started nearly from the opening puck drop, and the Bison were awarded an early power-play chance just over two minutes in. Numerous chances were generated, but the Cyclones killed off the penalty. Bloomington hemmed Cincinnati in its own zone, and after a Cincinnati rush broke up the lopsided play, Jesper Solomon-Frisell scored a breakaway goal to give Bloomington a 1-0 lead exactly 10 minutes in from Mikhail Abramov and Nikita Sedov. McKay had a strong first frame and stopped all 13 shots he faced, including one-on-one chances and lateral blocks. Bloomington took a penalty of its own and completed the kill before Brenden Datema drew a double-minor penalty and sent the Bison to back-to-back powerplays. Denis netted his first power-play goal after driving toward the net from the slot and faking out the goaltender with three minutes remaining. Riku Ishida earned his first point back since returning from injury, and Datema picked up the other assist. Denis scored again with 25 seconds left in the frame on a one-timer from Shane Ott and Solomon-Frisell to give Bloomington a 3-0 lead heading into the second period.
McKay stayed strong to begin the middle stanza and turned away rebound tries as the Cyclones tried to create offense. Following a post-save by McKay, chaos ensued, and multiple fights broke out at 8:32 of the period. After the game resumed four-on-four, it eventually resulted in a three-minute power play for the Bison. Ott dished a no-look, backhand pass to a streaking Sedov, who potted Bloomington’s fourth goal of the night just over nine minutes in while four-on-four. Chongmin Lee earned the secondary assist. Parker Gavlas put the home squad up 5-0 with six minutes remaining in the period after the powerplay concluded, but before Cincinnati could exit the zone from Chris Ortiz. McKay concluded the frame, making two highlight saves, including a full-extension split stop with about a minute remaining.
Bloomington defended its lead, and McKay made 12 saves through the final period. The Bison killed off two more minors in the period, and the netminder recorded the team’s first shutout of the season.
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