BISON BLANKED BY WALLEYE, OLLAS PERFECT IN RELIEF
BY: Erik Konwinski, Bloomington Bison
Toledo, Ohio – The Bloomington Bison remained perfect on the penalty kill against the ECHL’s top powerplay but could not score in a 5-0 loss to the Toledo Walleye at the Huntington Center on Saturday evening.
Bloomington lost a defensive zone faceoff to the Walleye, who promptly blasted in the eventual game-winning goal just two minutes and 50 seconds into the game from the high slot. Five seconds after winning the ensuing faceoff at center ice, the puck was flipped over the glass from inside Bloomington’s zone to put Toledo on the powerplay. Eddie Matsushima pressured for the shorthanded Bison and helped keep the puck out of his zone to complete the penalty kill. Shortly after returning to five-on-five hockey, Cullen Ferguson jumped into a rush and nearly earned a breakaway chance but was checked off the puck before he could register a shot. At 7:47, the Walleye scored off the rush from the near-side boards to take a 2-0 lead. Before the end of the frame, Mark Kaleinikovas, Chongmin Lee and Sullivan Mack all created Grade-A scoring chances but were denied and the Bison headed into the intermission trailing 2-0.
The Bison began second-period play with energy and carried the pace of play but were further stymied by Toledo’s netminder. After having more chances come and go in offensive ice, Bloomington surrendered the 3-0 goal at 3:43 of the period off a double-deflected shot from the blue line. The top line consisting of Mack, Mikhail Abramov and Kyle Jackson continued to create opportunities, but the Walleye added to its lead just past the halfway point of regulation when the scored from the goal line. Hugo Ollas replaced Callum Tung with eight minutes and 18 seconds remaining in the middle frame and would go on to save all 12 shots he faced. After the goaltending change, Bloomington registered six of the final eight shots on net in the period and Lou-Felix Denis had what may have been the most dangerous scoring chance in the game with under three minutes left. After intercepting a pass from the corner at the top of the crease, he was then stopped by the Walleye goaltender, who made a complete pad extension to keep the Bison off the scoreboard. Ollas absorbed a breakaway shot with 36 seconds on the clock and Bloomington drew a penalty with under 20 ticks in the period.
Despite extended zone time and puck possession, Bloomington would not record a shot on net in the carryover powerplay time as Toledo blocked numerous attempts en route to the net. Thanks to the effort of Denis, Ayden MacDonald and Mikael Robidoux, physicality mounted and the Bison were able to roll lines with extended time in enemy territory. The Walleye were sent back to the penalty box with just over 13 minutes left in regulation and Bloomington improved its penalty kill to 5/5 in the weekend series before pushing for offense again. Abramov, Jackson and Mack resumed dominating puck-play and the Bison drew a penalty with 7:16 left in the game. Down by four goals and on the powerplay, Bloomington pulled Ollas to bring up a six-on-four scenario, but still could not light the lamp. Soon after exiting the penalty box, the Walleye iced the game with an empty-net goal at 14:49.
The Bison will return to home ice for Women in Sports Night on Friday, March 6 when the team will auction its blue alternate jerseys off after the game on the ice.
All Friday home games are 309 Nights featuring $3 Busch Lights, sodas and waters, $0 popcorn and $9 pizza combos and $9 specialty T-shirts!
Single-game tickets are 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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McKAY STOPS 35 IN TOLEDO, BISON FALL 4-2
BY: Erik Konwinski, Bloomington Bison
Toledo, Ohio – Dryden McKay made 35 saves and the penalty kill was perfect but the Bloomington Bison were defeated 4-2 by the Toledo Walleye at the Huntington Center on Friday evening.
Bloomington seemed to have scored the game’s opening goal less than four minutes in when Riku Ishida found a wide-open net from the left faceoff circle, but the call was overturned due to incidental contact upon official review. The Bison continued to pressure and sailed a flurry of shots onto Toledo’s net but could not bust free on the scoreboard. With just over five minutes remaining in the period, the visitors were assessed a minor penalty and successfully killed it off. Eddie Matsushima came up with a shorthanded rush to keep Toledo on its heels, and less than two minutes after returning to even strength play, Parker Gavlas drew a tripping penalty. McKay denied an odd-man rush with under a minute to go, and the teams headed to intermission in a scoreless contest with Bloomington outshooting Toledo 10-7.
The Bison were unable to score on 31 seconds of carryover powerplay time, and the Walleye took a 1-0 lead merely 46 seconds into the middle frame. The man-advantage squad did capitalize to tie the game at 5:35 when Mark Kaleinikovas netted his fourth powerplay goal of the season. Lou-Felix Denis intercepted a Toledo pass and dished the puck to Kaleinikovas for the back-door finish. Seventeen seconds after tying the game, the Bison went back to the penalty box. While shorthanded, McKay stopped a barrage of Toledo chances and the Bison carried momentum of another successful penalty kill into a go-ahead goal. Ishida flung an outlet pass up the length of the boards from his own zone to Sullivan Mack on the offensive blue line, and Mack slipped past the defense to record the 2-1 marker. Bloomington killed off the beginning of a minor penalty before the buzzer sent each team to its locker room, and though the Bison trailed the Walleye 17-8 in second-period shots, they led 2-1 where it mattered most.
The penalty kill improved to 3/3 in the first 67 seconds of the third, making it perfect against the ECHL’s top powerplay, but Toledo scored at 3:38 to tie the game. At 5:11, Bloomington earned a great chance to regain its lead by drawing another penalty, but McKay shined brightest and stopped another shorthanded breakdown. Capitalizing on a fortunate line change, Toledo sprung onto a breakaway and was stopped by Bloomington’s netminder, but after the Bison failed to clear the loose puck from the crease, the Walleye scored their game-winning goal with 4:40 remaining in regulation. The Bison called a timeout and put an extra attacker on the ice but Toledo increased its lead to the 4-2 final score with 90 ticks left.
The Bison will return to home ice for Women in Sports Night on Friday, March 6 when the team will auction its blue alternate jerseys off after the game on the ice.
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BISON DENIS GETS THREE IN IOWA
BY: Erik Konwinski, Bloomington Bison
Coralville, Iowa – Lou-Felix Denis scored twice and added an assist but the Bloomington Bison were defeated 5-3 by the Iowa Heartlanders at Xtream Arena on Wednesday evening.
Early on, Callum Tung was tested by a flurry of shots and Bloomington’s netminder denied a cross-crease feed nearly six minutes in. A minute later, Chongmin Lee was denied on a two-on-one rush toward Iowa’s net, and back-and-forth action continued. The Bison remained trapped in their own end toward the end of the period, and Iowa opened the scoring on their 19th shot of the game with 5:31 left in the period. The Bison made one final push but were stopped with just over three minutes remaining and took a 1-0 score and 24-8 shot deficit into the second.
For a second-straight frame, Bloomington allowed the first goal, and the Heartlanders took a 2-0 lead at 3:12 of the middle period. The Bison pushed and had three quality chances near the halfway point, but could not find success. With just 10 seconds remaining on a penalty kill, Iowa increased its lead to 3-0 at 16:52 before Bloomington answered. Thirty-five seconds later, Denis scored from Kyle Jackson and Riku Ishida and the Bison ended the period down by two, but earned a powerplay that carried into the final stanza.
The visitors were held off the scoresheet while on the man-advantage, but got to within one goal of tying Iowa less than two and a half minutes in when Jackson scored from Denis and Gavlas. The Heartlanders jumped ahead 4-2 one second past the halfway mark of the third, and Denis responded with his second tally of the evening, but a late empty-net goal punctuated Bloomington’s comeback attempt. In total, Tung made 36 saves while the Bison scored three times on 33 shots.
The Bison will return to home ice for Women in Sports Night on Friday, March 6 when the team will auction its blue alternate jerseys off after the game on the ice. All Friday home games are 309 Nights featuring $3 Busch Lites, sodas and waters, $0 popcorn and $9 pizza combos and $9 specialty T-shirts!
Single-game tickets are 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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