Kaleinikovas, Bison Defeat Komets 4-3
ECHL Bloomington Bison

Kaleinikovas, Bison Defeat Komets 4-3

Published on December 31, 2025 under ECHL (ECHL)
Bloomington Bison News Release


Fort Wayne, Ind. - Mark Kaleinikovas scored twice and multiple newly acquired Bison earned points as the Bloomington Bison defeated the Fort Wayne Komets 4-3 in a back-and-forth game at the Memorial Coliseum on Wednesday evening.

Bloomington drew the first powerplay exactly three minutes into the game and tallied five of the first six shots of the contest, but the Komets struck first on the scoreboard. After the Bison mishandled the puck in neutral ice, Fort Wayne entered into the offensive zone and took a 1-0 lead off a slap shot from the right circle at 8:34. The home squad nearly doubled its lead on the next shift, but Cooper Moore blocked the shot along the goal line and erased the threat. Bloomington evened the score over halfway through the frame after winning a defensive-zone faceoff and a puck race behind the opposition net. Brandon Yeamans sailed a pass across the zone after cycling deep in offensive ice and Parker Gavlas caught the feed at the far-side blue line. Griffen Fox deflected in Gavlas's shot in his first game as a Bison against his former team to bring up the 1-1 score at 11:37. Just over two minutes later, Moore dove to sweep the puck out of the crease to make another goal-line save and keep the game tied. With two minutes remaining in the stanza, Matt Hubbarde collected a rebound in front of Fort Wayne's netminder and hit the post point-blank. The Bison took a 16-7 shot advantage into the intermission, but the Komets pushed to begin the second period.

Bloomington was deemed guilty of a high-sticking infraction just one minute and 53 seconds into the frame and 90 seconds later, Brett Budgell seemed to score his fourth shorthanded goal of the season. The play was ruled to result from a kicking motion, and the goal call was overturned. Momentum continued to favor Fort Wayne soon after, and though the Bison successfully completed the penalty kill, Fort Wayne took a 2-1 lead at 4:27 after capitalizing on a turnover. The Bison killed off another minor penalty with seven minutes left in the period, and the Komets found themselves in penalty trouble in the final 82 ticks. Lou-Félix Denis drew a hooking penalty and the powerplay struck promptly. Forty seconds into the man-advantage Denis drew another penalty, and moments later, while on the delayed call, Kaleinikovas tipped in his first goal of the game at 19:20. Budgell began the scoring sequence with a cross-zone dish to Ott, whose shot created the net-front opportunity. Kaleinikovas slammed in a rebound created by Nikita Sedov to give Bloomington a 3-2 lead 24 seconds later while still on the powerplay. Budgell set up the play from the corner for a second-straight goal, and Denis provided a screen for Sedov's blue-line blast. Through 40 minutes of play, the Bison enjoyed a 26-16 shot advantage and another recent addition to the Bloomington lineup would be a factor early in the third period.

Near the first-minute mark of the final frame, Moore dumped the puck in along the near boards and Hubbarde won the puck race, despite being checked behind the net and falling down upon retrieval. Ott provided reinforcements and carried the puck to the top of the zone before floating it back toward the cage, where Hubbarde was standing in front to tip in his second goal of the season in his Bison debut. The tally came 63 seconds into the third and would stand as the eventual game-winning-goal from Ott and Moore. Both teams traded penalties through the middle of the period, and each penalty kill held strong, but a holding minor called on Bloomington with just over two minutes remaining in regulation allowed the Komets to pull within one goal of tying the game. Fort Wayne's third goal occurred with just 84 seconds left off a deflection while the Komets skated six-on-four with an empty net. After garnering the powerplay tally, the home team once again pulled its goaltender and even drew another penalty with six seconds left, but Denis blocked a shot and won a final faceoff to secure Bloomington's victory.

Dryden McKay stopped 25 shots to record his sixth win of the season, and the Bison snapped a season-long, four-game losing streak with the victory. Bloomington continues a four-game road trip with a game in Indy against the Fuel Friday before returning home on Wednesday, January 7.

Join the Bison for Star Wars Night on Saturday, January 10 when the first 1,500 fans will receive a team-branded giveaway lightsaber!

Single-game tickets are available for ALL Bloomington Bison home games starting as low as $20! Visit ticketmaster.com or call 309-965-HERD to purchase tickets today.

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