Heart, Hustle, and Overtime Heroics Fuel Bison’s Rapid Rise in ECHL standings

IMAGE COURTESY OF BLOOMINGTON BISON MEDIA TEAM

NORMAL, Ill.—The Bloomington Bison continue their climb in the Central Division standings with 3 wins over their last 4 contests, marked by dramatic comebacks, red-hot special-teams performances, and Eddie Matsushima’s continued strong campaign, as the Bison earned key points against the Iowa Heartlanders and Toledo Walleye.

The Bison are 3-1 over their last 4 contests, starting with a captivating and inspiring performance against the Iowa Heartlanders last Wednesday in Coralville, where the team erased a 3-0 first-period deficit to win the game in overtime by a score of 4-3.

Iowa started the game with bad intentions to begin, scoring 3 goals in a span of 5 minutes in the opening frame. However, unfazed, the Bison rallied in the second period and scored a mere 2 minutes into the period on a goal from captain Eddie Matsushima, who extended his points streak to six games.

The next Bison name to appear on the scoresheet was Brett Budgell, scoring on a breakaway 7 minutes into the period to cut the Iowa lead to one.

More Bloomington chances in the second frame were not rewarded with a tie game, as Sullivan Mack rattled the posts twice before the end of the second frame.

Dryden McKay made sure to keep the Bison within striking distance as well, fending off Iowa’s late shorthanded attack to send the game to the final frame, with the Bison trailing 3-2.

The final frame saw the Bison tie the game nearly halfway through before offensive struggles plagued the rest of the period. Kohei Sato’s game-tying goal was upheld upon review, pending initial goalie interference concerns.

The goal marked the last shot attempt for Bloomington in regulation as a match penalty and tripping call left the Bison shorthanded for nearly seven straight minutes.

Facing a severe challenge and adversity, the Bison penalty unit prevailed, sending the game to overtime, where Eddie Matsushima buried his second goal of the night and the game winner off a rebound from Daniel Tedesco to seal the win for the Bison in a dramatic comeback effort.

Two nights later, this time back at home at Grossinger Motors Arena, the Bison faced an early deficit against the Heartland once more; despite outshooting Iowa 11-7 in the opening period, Bloomington was trailing by 2 at the first intermission.

The game was physical from the start, with Mark Kaleinikovas’s fight energizing the crowd to close out the period and setting the tone for another Bison comeback.

Kyle Jackson and Kaleinikovas both found the back of the net in the second period to tie the game up at 2-2.

Netminder Drayden McKay also showed his value in the contest, turning away 15 shots in the final period of regulation as the Bison survived heavy pressure behind a strong defensive performance.

But the Bison defense could not stop the Heartlanders in overtime, as Iowa scored to take away the extra point from the Bison and win the contest 3-2.

Splitting the first two contests, with each team losing at home, the third consecutive matchup favored the Bison, as both teams travelled back to Coralville for the third and final meeting of this series this past Sunday.

The Bison showed out in every aspect of the game, putting together their most complete performance of the week and earning a dominant 5-1 victory over the Heartlanders, behind Captain Eddie Matsushima’s 3-point performance.

Shane Ott opened the scoring for Bloomington just over a minute into the game on a rebound set up by Matsushima and Mark Kaleinikovas. Matsushima poured in another tally 3 quarters of the way through the period as Bloomington stayed on top to end the frame.

While Iowa scored first in the second and cut the Bison lead to 2-1, rookie Sullivan Mack restored the two-goal advantage on a backhand to score his first professional goal and give Bloomington a 3-1 advantage heading into frame number 3.

Drayden McKay once more showed his steady presence between the pipes, making several key stops as the game became increasingly more physical.

The Bison weathered that storm very well and were rewarded early in the third period when Johnny Evans connected on a centering feed from Kyle Jackson to make it 3-1 to the Bison.

Mere moments later, on a 5-on-3 advantage, Budgell scored the Bison’s 5th goal of the contest, with Eddie Matsushima collecting his third point of the contest.

McKay finished with over 30 saves for the sixth straight game with 31 saves, and Bloomington’s penalty kill went a perfect 4-for-4 to secure a dominant road victory over the Heartlanders.

The Bison once more showcased their resilience and ability to fight back into a game against the Toledo Walleye on Wednesday morning in Toledo, erasing a 3-1 deficit to win 4-3 in overtime.

Sloppy defensive mishaps allowed the Walleye to score twice in the second frame before Mikael Robidoux redirected a point shot into the back of Toledo’s goal to cut the deficit to one.

Toledo seemed unfazed by the Bison score, as they reestablished their two-goal cushion with a score before the end of the period, making it a 3-1 contest heading into the final period of play.

The third period was again the Bison’s time to shine. Eddie Matsushima redirected a Seung Jae Lee shot five minutes in to cut the lead to one, before Sullivan Mack hammered in the game-tying goal just over halfway through the period.

Extending the contest into overtime, a clean rush led by Shane Ott set up Matsushima for the game-winning goal, his second on the night, and gave the Bison their second come-from-behind overtime win in their last four games.

Across the four-game stretch, the Bison showcased resilience, special-teams excellence, and continued strong goaltending from McKay to earn 3 victories and one point in the overtime loss to Iowa. With that, the Bison now sit on 22 points on the season, good enough for a tied third place in the Western Conference.

Next on the calendar for the Bison are the Kalamazoo Wings, who travel to Bloomington to face the Bison on back-to-back nights this Friday and Saturday, with puck drop scheduled for 7pm both nights.

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