Bison Jump Into Third Place Behind McKay’s Fourth Shutout

IMAGE COURTESY OF ELLY MAIER

NORMAL, Ill. – Dryden McKay turned aside all 16 shots he faced for his fourth shutout of the season as the Bloomington Bison steamed past the Greenville Swamp Rabbits, 4–0, Sunday afternoon at Bon Secours Wellness Arena. The victory vaulted Bloomington into third place in the Central Division with three regular-season games remaining.

The Bison wasted little time asserting themselves in this contest, applying early pressure less than a minute into the contest when Shane Ott drove the net, only to see his chance hop over the crossbar.

Greenville answered back shortly after, but McKay was sharp from the opening puck drop, calmly denying the Swamp Rabbits’ early looks on net.

The home side nearly struck first at the eight-minute mark when a shot ricocheted off the iron, swinging momentum firmly toward Bloomington.

At 12:18 of the opening period, Mark Kaleinikovas opened the scoring for the Bison, finishing a feed from Nikita Sedov and Chongmin Lee to give the Bison a 1–0 advantage.

Mere three minutes later, Ott doubled the advantage, burying a setup from Kaleinikovas and Lee again, to cap a dominant stretch and extend the Bloomington lead to 2-0.

Bloomington faced a late interference penalty, but for the second consecutive game, the Bison penalty kill was flawless, allowing no shots and preserving a 2–0 lead heading into the first intermission.

In the second frame, the bison generated more quality looks offensively from Lou‑Felix Denis and Sedov, but both were turned away.

Denis would eventually solve Greenville’s goaltender at 6:16 of the second stanza, finishing his own rebound to extend the Bison lead to three.

Just over a minute later, Bloomington continued its relentless efficiency. Deni Goure struck on Bloomington’s eighth shot of the game, snapping home a pass from Ilya Tsulygin to make it 4–0 and prompt a Greenville goaltending change.

The Bison earned a power play shortly after but came up empty, though they still carried strong momentum into the third period, outshooting Greenville 10–6 in the second frame.

Bloomington began the final period with extended offensive-zone time, as the line of Kaleinikovas, Ott, and Lee nearly added another tally.

Defenseman Brenden Datema kept a play alive at the blue line to further sustain pressure, but Greenville managed to clear before McKay showcased his reflexes again, denying a slap-shot blast on the counterattack.

With five minutes remaining, McKay smothered a loose puck in a scramble in front of the Bloomington net to steady the game.

Another crease crash resulted in offsetting roughing penalties, and the Bison netminder followed with another athletic stop.

During a 4-on-4 sequence, Parker Lindauer and Goure narrowly missed on a cross‑ice connection, while Greenville mounted one final push in the closing minutes that came up short.

McKay’s 16‑save shutout not only secured two crucial standings points but also marked his fourth shutout of the season, pushing him past Yaniv Perets for the most shutouts by a goaltender in Bison franchise history.

The win also allowed Bloomington to jump Cincinnati and Tahoe in the tight Central Division race and seize third place with three games to play.

Bloomington will face the Iowa heartlanders for all three remaining regular season games, traveling to Iowa for the first contest on Wednesday, April 15, before returning home to Grossinger Motors Arena for a back-to-back on Friday, April 17, and Saturday, April 18, to close out the regular season.

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