McKay, Goure lift Bison past Heartlanders 4-3 in overtime

IMAGE COURTESY OF ELLY MAIER

CORALVILLE, Iowa — A three-point night from Deni Goure, capped by the overtime winner, lifted the Bloomington Bison past the Iowa Heartlanders 4-3 on Wednesday night at Xtream Arena.

Dryden McKay was a steady presence in the Bloomington net, turning aside a series of key chances throughout regulation and overtime to keep the Bison in the game. The win moved Bloomington into a tie with the Indy Fuel for third place in the Central Division with two games remaining in the regular season.

Bloomington opened the scoring late in the first period after successfully killing an early penalty and weathering extended Iowa pressure in the defensive zone.

The Heartlanders were assessed a bench minor for too many men on the ice at 11:22 of the opening period, and Grant Porter converted on the ensuing power play with 15 seconds remaining to give the Bison a 1-0 lead. Goure and Nikita Sedov picked up the assists.

The Bison lead was short-lived, however, as Iowa answered before the intermission. The Heartlanders intercepted a Bloomington clearing attempt at center ice and capitalized with just over two minutes remaining in the period to tie the game at 1-1.

Unfazed by the late equalizer, Bloomington struck quickly to open the second period. After McKay denied Iowa on a breakaway, the Bison capitalized at the other end when Parker Lindauer scored his fourth professional goal one minute into the frame, assisted by Porter and Goure.

Bloomington extended its lead midway through the period when Shane Ott blocked a shot that bounced to Mark Kaleinikovas. Kaleinikovas carried the puck up ice and fired it past the Iowa netminder to make it 3-1.

McKay’s play preserved the two-goal advantage, as he made several standout saves to keep the Heartlanders at bay, including consecutive stops during crease scrambles and a key penalty kill late in the second period following a tripping infraction.

Iowa pushed early in the third period and broke through seven minutes in to cut the deficit to one. Six minutes later, the Heartlanders struck again, tying the game at 3-3 as sustained pressure overwhelmed the Bloomington defense.

With the game deadlocked, the Bison generated quality chances late in regulation through Cullen Ferguson and Ott but came up empty as time expired, sending the game to overtime.

In the extra session, Goure made quick work of the Iowa defense. He stole the puck and remained calm on the breakaway, burying the game-winning goal for his third point of the night to give the Bison the 4-3 victory and the extra point in the tightly contested Central Division race.

The Bison will play their final two regular-season games at home, opening a two-game set against the Heartlanders on Friday, April 17, before closing the season Saturday, April 18. Puck drop is scheduled for 7 p.m. both nights.

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