Bison Ride Stellar Goaltending to 3–0 Shutout Victory Over Indy

IMAGE COURTESY OF BLOOMINGTON BISON MEDIA TEAM

NORMAL, Ill. – The Bison shut out the Indy Fuel behind a stellar outing from netminder Dryden McKay and a multi-point performance from Nikita Sedov, as the Bison take this Sunday afternoon game 3-0 at Grossinger Motors Arena.

The Bison came out aggressive to start the game, looking to control the tempo and push the pace.

Rewarded for their good start, a mere two minutes into the contest, Bloomington earned a power play, with Mark Kaleinikovas having the best chance on a one-on-one attack against the Indy goalie.

To the disappointment of the Bison faithful, the Fuel successfully fended off the Bison’s one-man advantage and brought the game back to even strength, tied at 0-0.

At the midway point of the opening period, the Bison were finally able to break the scoreless tie and take a 1-0 lead after Sedov converted on a rebound off Mikael Robidoux’s breakaway chance.

To take the lead into the first intermission, the Bison defense and netminder McKay successfully killed off the Fuel’s sole power play of the game, as McKay saved all 9 shots faced in the opening frame.

The early stages of the second frame saw the Bison’s defense continuing to shine and limit the Fuel’s offensive abilities. A total of 10 shots and extended offensive control were not good enough to overcome McKay and Bloomington’s lockdown defense.

Offensively, the Bison saw their best chance come with just under 8 minutes left in the period of a set faceoff play that was turned away by the Fuel’s defense.

To close out the second frame, McKay showed off his class once more, turning away a one-timer from the fuel and shutting down an odd-man rush to keep the opposition at bay and securing the one-goal advantage heading into the final frame.

In the final period the Bison were finally able to extend their lead six minutes in. Shane Ott cleaned up Sedov’s rebound right on the doorstep to make it two-nothing Bison. Mikhail Abramov earned the secondary assist on the play.

Abramov finished off his own two-point performance with an empty net goal in the final 20 seconds of play to make it 3-0 in favor of the Bison to close out the contest.

McKay’s third period consisted of another highlight reel post-to-post save, ending the night with 27 saves. The win provides a huge push for the Bison in the Central Division standings, as they now sit in a tie for third place with the Indy Fuel at 42 points on the season.

Bloomington will be back in action on home ice on Wednesday, January 28, for Brewery Night. The first 1,000 Bison fans to make it to Grossinger Motors Arena will receive a player trading card. The Bison will host the Tahoe Knight Monsters, with puck drop scheduled for 7 p.m.

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