Bloomington, Ill. – The Bloomington Bison suffered a 5-2 loss against the Cincinnati Cyclones on Saturday night at Grossinger Motors Arena.
9:16 in the first period, the Cyclones took the lead as Mark Sikic scored his seventh goal of the season from Chas Sharpe and Ty Voit. The Bison had two powerplay opportunities but failed to score. The Cyclones outshot the Bison by a 14-8 margin.
Zack Hoffman and Rhett Parsons dropped the gloves at 2:34 to kick-off the second frame. At 5:08, Ryan Siedem’s wrist shot deflected off Eddie Matsushima to even the score on the powerplay. Matsushima’s 21st of the season was also assisted by Connor Lockhart. The Cyclones responded quickly at 8:07 as Sharpe scored his 18th of the season. Dante Sheriff and Tristan Ashbrook assisted to take a 2-1 lead. At 11:03, the Cyclones extended their lead on a two-man advantage as Lincoln Griffin found Sheriff in the slot for his seventh goal of the season. The Cyclones outshot Bison by a 15-9 margin during the second period.
Matsushima began the scoring in the third at 10:23 for his second goal of the game and 22nd of the season. Lockhart and Patrick Bajkov assisted to make it a one-goal game. Attempting a late-game rally, the Bison pulled Yaniv Perets for a man advantage. However, Curtis Hall found Remy Parker for a breakaway to post a 4-2 lead at 18:23. Parker’s empty-net goal was his sixth of the season. The Cyclones immediately extended their lead on another empty net goal at 19:25 as Sheriff found Ashbrook for his 15th of the year. The goal sealed the scoring as the Cyclones defeated the Bison 5-2.
Vyacheslav Peksa secured the win for the Cyclones, making 23 saves on 25 shots. Perets made 32 saves on 35 shots in the loss. The Bison went 1-for-5 on the powerplay, and the penalty kill went 3-for-4.
The Bison square up against the Toledo Walleye tomorrow at 3 p.m. for Sunday Family Fun Day and the birthday celebration of Bison mascot, Abe. Kids 12-and-under EAT FREE with a voucher for a hot dog, chips, soda and cookie. Following the final horn, all fans are welcome to join the Bison players for a post-game skate and autograph session.
Reggie Redbird (Illinois State), Tommy the Titan (Illinois Wesleyan University), Rocky (Peoria Rivermen), Corny (Normal CornBelters) and The Belted Kingfisher (University of Illinois) will be joining Abe for his birthday festivities.
An Abe Lincoln interpreter will be dropping the ceremonial faceoff, available for photos on the concourse, and participating in the ‘Shoot the Puck Challenge’ for $50,000.
The first 1,000 fans on Sunday will receive a free Bison top hat.
Tickets can be purchased by visiting bloomingtonbisonhockey.com or calling (309) 965-HERD.