Historic Comeback Fuels Bison’s Rise Near Top of ECHL Standings

Image courtesy of Bloomington Bison Media

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. — The Bloomington Bison spent the weekend proving they are one of the ECHL’s early-season surprises, authoring a historic comeback in Fort Wayne before battling the conference leaders into overtime less than 24 hours later.

The Bison erased a four-goal deficit Friday night to defeat the Fort Wayne Komets 5-4 in a shootout, then followed with a hard-fought 4-3 overtime loss to the Cincinnati Cyclones on Saturday.

The two performances extended Bloomington’s season-opening point streak to seven games and left the expansion franchise just one point shy of the top spot in the Western Conference.

Friday’s victory was one for the record books.

Bloomington trailed 4-0 after the opening period and appeared headed toward its first regulation loss of the season, but the Bison mounted one of the most improbable comebacks in recent professional hockey memory.

A statistic shared by the NHL noted teams trailing by four or more goals entering the final three minutes of regulation have historically gone 1-10,300-0 all-time. Bloomington became just the second club to overcome such odds, after their affiliate NHL team, the Winnipeg Jets accomplished the safe feat mere two days earlier.

Deni Goure sparked the rally with a deflection goal midway through the second period before Grant Porter buried a power-play opportunity later in the frame before Vladislav Kamenev pulled the Bison within one early in the third period, and Goure delivered again with the tying goal with just 63 seconds remaining in regulation.

After forcing overtime, Bloomington completed the comeback in the shootout. Goure scored on the Bison’s first attempt, while goaltender Alex Worthington, making his Bloomington debut in relief, stopped all three Fort Wayne shooters to secure the 5-4 victory. Worthington entered during the first period and finished with 21 saves.

The emotional win sent Bloomington overnight to Cincinnati for a showdown with the Cyclones, who entered Saturday atop the ECHL standings. Despite tired legs, the Bison responded and played well.

Trailing 1-0 entering the second period, Bloomington received consecutive power-play goals from Raivis Ansons and Lou-Felix Denis to take a 2-1 lead.

Cincinnati answered with two goals in the third period, but Porter continued his strong weekend by scoring the equalizer with just over five minutes remaining to force overtime.

The Cyclones ended the contest 1:29 into the extra session, earning a 4-3 victory and handing Bloomington its first non-win of the season.

Still, the overtime loss extended the Bison’s point streak and reinforced their standing among the league’s elite teams.

Through seven games, Bloomington sits second in the Western Conference with 12 points, trailing only Cincinnati with 13 points despite having played two more games. The Bison also remain one of only two ECHL teams without a regulation loss this season.

Goure finished the weekend with three goals and two assists, while Porter scored in both contests.

More importantly, Bloomington left the road trip with three of a possible four points and continued to establish itself as a legitimate contender in the league’s opening month.

The Bison return home Nov. 14 for a rematch with Cincinnati at Grossinger Motors Arena, where first place could once again be on the line.

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