Bloomington, Ill. – Sullivan Mack capped off a comeback in front of the largest crowd in Grossinger Motors Arena history as the Bloomington Bison defeated the Indy Fuel 4-3 on Tuesday morning.

Physical play began early and Ayden MacDonald dropped the gloves for a fight just two minutes into the game, setting the tone for the rest of the matinee. After killing off an early penalty, Eddie Matsushima broke the ice seven minutes in. Chris Ortiz intercepted a clearing pass and found Matsushima in the slot who buried the biscuit, erupting the crowd of over 6,000 screaming children. Additional offensive chances came, but Brad Morrison was stopped on a break, and Lou-Felix Denis was denied a one-timed attempt. Indy scored in the final three minutes, setting up a knotted middle stanza.

Bloomington continued its fast play and created more offensive chances, however, Indy broke the tie early in the second period. Penalties began to pile up and break the game’s flow. In total, six minors were assessed in the period. The Bison killed off two consecutive penalties before receiving their first powerplay chance, which began with four-on-four play. While four-on-four, Chongmin Lee tipped the puck in as it was sitting on the goal line, and the goal-call was upheld upon review. Nikita Sedov earned the primary assist in his return to the lineup, and Matsushima earned his second point of the night at 14:03. The Bison pushed for more and got a truncated five-on-three powerplay before being called for a penalty and negating the rest of the man-advantage. The score remained tied through two periods and the shots were 20-19 Indy.

Bloomington looked to build off its late energy heading into the third frame but aggressive play led to an early Fuel powerplay chance and Indy capitalized. Just two minutes and 42 seconds into the final frame, the visitors took a 3-2 lead. The Fuel seemed to jump ahead by two goals 42 seconds later, but the goal was disallowed due to coming from a kicking motion. The Bison were tasked with three more penalty kills before getting the game-tying goal, and Bloomington ended up going 7/8 in the game. Parker Gavlas jumpstarted the comeback effort with three minutes remaining when he ripped home a point shot from Chris Ortiz and Deni Goure, who was playing in his Bison debut. Ninety-four seconds later, Mack tucked in wrap around after a Sedov stretch feed to give Bloomington its first lead since the opening frame. The defense held strong, blocking shots and passing lanes after Indy pulled its goalie with under a minute remaining to secure the victory. Bloomington, and Dryden McKay have now won back-to-back games and sit three points behind the Fuel in Fourth Place in the Central Division standings.

Bloomington will drop the puck on Friday, March 13 and observe New York Rangers Night featuring $3 Busch Lights, sodas and waters, $0 popcorn and $9 pizza combos and $9 specialty T-shirts. Additionally, fans can have the chance to win signed New York Rangers memorabilia.

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.