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Carter Berger Secures Overtime Win

Friday, March 7th
Carter Berger Secures Overtime Win

Bloomington, Ill. – Defenseman Carter Berger scored the overtime game winning goal to elevate the Bloomington Bison to a 3-2 victory against the Iowa Heartlanders at Grossinger Motors Arena on Friday night.

The first period began with a powerplay for each team, but neither could convert. At 15:01 Jake Murray scored on a wrist shot from the point on the team’s second powerplay. Murray’s fifth of the season was assisted by Chongmin Lee and Dalton Duhart. Following the period, Mikael Robidoux and Nico Blachman dropped the gloves with both players receiving a fighting major and a game misconduct. Blachman was assessed an extra five-minute major. 

The Bison could not capitalize on the man advantage to begin the second frame. The period remained scoreless until the final minute. With :20 remaining, Austen Swankler evened the score on the powerplay as he found the back of the net for his fourth of the season. Keltie Jeri-Leon and Louka Henault collected the assists. Concluding the period, Iowa outshot the Bison by a 10-6 margin. 

A penalty-filled third started with Swankler and Dustin Manz fighting at 5:51 following a Manz charging penalty on Heartlander’s goaltender, Kyle McClellan. Later in the period, the Heartlanders had a five-on-three advantage. Gavin Hain stuffed the puck past Kasimir Kaskisuo at 12:03 for his tenth of the season. Hain’s goal went unassisted to give the Heartlanders a 2-1 lead. With 44 seconds remaining in the game, Lee found Gavin Gould for a one-timer to force overtime. Gould’s game-tying goal was his fourth of the season with the secondary assist coming from Connor Lockhart. 

Overtime saw back-and-forth action with plenty of Bloomington chances. At 4:16, Lee set up Carter Berger to score on his own rebound and end the game. The goal was Berger’s sixth of the season to give the Bison a 3-2 victory and end the team’s three-game losing streak. 

Kaskisuo secured his first win for the Bison, making 34 saves on 36 shots. McClellan made 24 saves on 27 shots in the loss. The Bison went 2-for-4 on the powerplay, and the penalty kill went 6-for-8.

The Bison return to Grossinger Motors Arena tomorrow against the Iowa Heartlanders at 7 p.m. for First Responders Night and Made in America Night presented by American Buildings. The Bison third jerseys will be auctioned off following the game! Single-game seats are available starting as low as $20! Group pricing with benefits and suite options are also available. Visit bloomingtonbisonhockey.com or call (309) 965-HERD for more information.