Bloomington, Ill – Chongmin Lee scored in his return to Bloomington, but the Bloomington Bison fell 4-3 to the Fort Wayne Komets at Grossinger Motors Arena Wednesday evening.

After being outshot 4-0 in the first two minutes, the Bison took advantage of their first shot and continued their trend of scoring first in each game of the team’s six-game home-stand so far. Mark Kaleinikovas forced a giveaway in the neutral zone and sped past a flat-footed Komets defenseman before burying a backhand shot to the top of the net. Following the goal, Bloomington forced turnovers and maintained extended zone time. Under three minutes later, Sullivan Mack slid the puck to Lee, who scored his first goal after returning to the lineup on loan from the Cleveland Monsters at 5:19 to give the Bison a 2-0 lead. Lee played six games with Cleveland. Bloomington continued to push and got its first powerplay chance 33 seconds later. Fort Wayne successful killed its first of four minor penalties and gained momentum. Hugo Ollas made impressive saves on back-to-back shots, including a stick save and toe stop. In the final three minutes, the Komets drew their first man-advantage, and although they would not find the back of the net during the powerplay, they cut the Bloomington lead in half with under 30 seconds remaining. 

Bloomington was out-shot 11-5 in the second period and did not have a shot until the halfway mark of the frame. The Bison looked to reclaim their two-goal lead with a chance early on but rang the shot off the post. The shot disparity increased with three powerplay opportunities, however, the second chance was cut short due to additional calls. Ollas continued his strong play, building on his 10 saves in the first, and turned away another 10 Fort Wayne shots. For a second-straight period, Fort Wayne scored in the final minute. The Bison punched back when Brenden Datema received a pass from Mack and found the short-side of the net from just below the right circle. Datema’s goal with 15 seconds remaining was confirmed after a review, and Nikita Sedov earned a secondary assist.

The Bison struggled to create momentum in the final frame, and Fort Wayne pushed the pace of play for most of the stanza. The visitors netted the game-tying goal just five minutes into the period and kept pressuring. Consistent intensity gave the Komets a hold of the game and they scored the eventual-game-winning-goal with just over eight minutes remaining. Bloomington was limited to only three shots in the final period with the first one recorded in the final five minutes. Despite a Bloomington powerplay in the final three minutes with six-on-four and six-on-five action, the Bison fell 4-3.

Join the Bison as they continue to push for the top spot in the Central Division and help the team set a world record for the most ugly holiday sweaters in one place on Friday, December 19 against the Kalamazoo Wings!

All Friday home games at Grossinger Motors Arena are 309 Nights featuring $3 Busch Lights, $0 popcorn and $9 specialty T-shirts. Single-game tickets are now available for ALL Bloomington Bison home games starting as low as $20! Visit ticketmaster.com or call 309-965-HERD to purchase tickets today.