Special Teams Lift Bison over Fuel
ECHL Bloomington Bison

Special Teams Lift Bison over Fuel

Published on April 3, 2026 under ECHL (ECHL)
Bloomington Bison News Release


Bloomington, Ill. - The Bloomington Bison scored three powerplay goals and went perfect on the penalty kill to capture to a 4-2 win over the Indy Fuel in front of over 4,500 fans at Grossinger Motors Arena on Friday night.

The Bison killed an early penalty before firing up its offense. Following the penalty's conclusion, Chongmin Lee sauced a pass to Riku Ishida who sped passed a defender and tipped in the puck. Later on, each team was tagged for roughing and four-on-four play commenced before Bloomington earned its first two chances on the powerplay. Ishida ripped in a one-timer to double the Bison lead at 7:35 while on the first man advantage. Although unable to capitalize on the second chance, the momentum stayed on the home side and Bloomington took a two-goal lead into the middle stanza.

The Bison were hemmed into their own end for much of the second period and proved offense wasn't the team's only strong suit. Dryden McKay was peppered with 15 shots in the frame and stopped 14. Parker Gavlas came up with Bloomington's best chance with around six minutes left but it was turned aside. With under three minutes remaining, McKay denied a breakaway chance to keep a one-goal lead headed to the final frame.

Bloomington regained an offensive edge early in the final period. Grant Porter was stopped on a one-timed shot, but later, Lee hammered in an Ayden MacDonald bumper pass to give the home team a 3-1 lead. Kyle Jackson earned the secondary. Indy countered about two minutes later, and got a chance to tie the score when the Bison were called for their second penalty. While shorthanded, the Bison drew a Fuel penalty and with one second remaining on the abbreviated powerplay, Lou-Felix Denis redirected in a Nikita Sedov point shot to put the Bison up 4-2. McKay closed the game strong keeping out a flurry of in-close attempts in the final nine minutes. His night was highlighted by a full-extension glove save when the Fuel put an extra attacker on the ice in the last two minutes of play. In total, Bloomington was outshot 31-12 in the last two periods, and 37-23 overall but captured two important standings points.

The Bison will look to increase their spot in the Central Division Standings when they host the Kalamazoo Wings for Sunday Family Funday on Sunday, April 5 at 4 p.m. when kids 12 and under will receive a FREE MEAL!

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.

Check out the Bloomington Bison Statistics

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ECHL Stories from April 3, 2026


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