Bison Fall Short in Homestand Finale, Drop 6–4 Decision to Iowa

IMAGE COURTESY OF ELLY MAIER

NORMAL, Ill. – The Bloomington Bison dropped the final game of their three‑game home-stand Sunday night, falling 6–4 to the Iowa Heartlanders despite another strong outing from Grant Porter, who scored for the third straight contest at Grossinger Motors Arena.

Bloomington couldn’t have asked for a better start. Just two minutes into the game, Nikita Sedov opened the scoring by floating a wrist shot from the blue line past the Iowa goaltender, with Shane Ott and Lou‑Felix Denis picking up the assists. The early strike energized the home crowd as the Bison looked to complete a weekend sweep.

If that wasn’t enough to ignite the arena, Brayden Datema made sure it was. Moments after the goal, Datema dropped the gloves off the face-off, bringing the building to life with a spirited fight.

Despite the momentum, the Bison came up empty on back‑to‑back power play chances later in the period. On the other end, the penalty kill rose to the occasion, highlighted by two big stops from Dryden McKay—first a poke check on a breakaway, then a glove save on an odd‑man rush.

Iowa tied the game with just over seven minutes left in the opening period, but Bloomington responded three minutes later. Grant Porter buried a net‑front pass after Zach Faremouth won a hard battle behind the Heartlanders’ net, sending the Bison into the first intermission ahead 2–1.

The second period opened with more fireworks. Denis dropped the gloves in another fight, feeding into the Bison’s physical, high‑energy identity. The penalty kill again stood strong, shutting down Iowa’s second man‑advantage of the night.

Midway through the period, Bloomington extended its lead to 3–1 when Parker Lindauer finished off a breakaway set up by Chongmin Lee and captain Eddie Matsushima.

But just as the Bison appeared to be in full control, the game flipped. Iowa struck twice to even things at 3–3, swinging the momentum sharply in their favor.

Bloomington answered before the period expired. Ott redirected a shot from Cullen Ferguson, restoring the lead and sending the Bison into the third up 4–3.

Early in the final frame, the Bison penalty kill delivered again, shutting down Iowa’s third power play. But the momentum didn’t last. Moments after returning to even strength, Iowa tied the game 4–4—and from there, the Heartlanders took over.

Iowa scored twice in a span of 145 seconds late in the period, jumping ahead 6–4 and stunning the home crowd. Bloomington earned a late power play but couldn’t capitalize, and the Heartlanders closed out the comeback to spoil the Bison’s weekend sweep bid.

Bloomington returns to action Friday, March 27, traveling to Fort Wayne to face the Komets. Puck drop is scheduled for 6:35 p.m.

For all things Bloomington Bison, stay tuned to WZND.com.