Greenville, S.C. – Eight skaters recorded multi-point games and Grant Porter tallied five assists to help the Bloomington Bison score eight goals for the first time in team history in a 8-5 win over the Greenville Swamp Rabbits at Bon Secours Wellness Arena on Thursday evening.

Bloomington drew a powerplay in the opening moments of the game and capitalized on the advantage at 2:07. Shane Ott dished a pass to Riku Ishida at the near circle, and Ishida let a shot go that created a rebound. Chongmin Lee potted the loose puck in front to give the road team a 1-0 lead, but Greenville answered promptly. Just 32 seconds later, the Swamp Rabbits tied the game. The Bison did not fall into a defensive structure but rather exploded for four-straight goals before the end of the stanza. Parker Gavlas blasted in a shot from the blue line at 5:33 and regained the lead. Bloomington added three more goals in the following six and a half minutes. Deni Goure continued the onslaught with his fifth tally in his 13^th game as a Bison off a rush from Porter and Brenden Datema before Datema notched a goal of his own to chase Greenville’s starting goaltender from the net. Sullivan Mack potted the 5-1 goal with five minutes and three seconds on the clock to cement a record five-goal period for Bloomington. Datema drew a roughing penalty in the final minute, but his squad would not score on the chance. The Bison took their four-goal advantage into the second period with a slight 9-8 shot advantage.

Porter rocketed a bid wide of the net for Bloomington’s best look on the powerplay, which allowed the Rabbits to survive, but the Bison pressure continued. Twenty-four ticks after another powerplay expired, Lou-Felix Denis scored to give his squad a 6-1 lead at 8:24. At 11:20, the Swamp Rabbits cashed in on a powerplay of their own before Nikita Sedov matched it a minute later. Greenville managed to bring up a 7-3 score in the final five minutes of the frame, but the Bison charged into the third with a four-goal lead and dug in to secure victory.

Bloomington earned a fourth powerplay chance to begin the final 20 minutes but Greenville stymied their momentum and scored at 5:00. Kylor Wall denied a rush chance near the middle mark and Dryden McKay was tasked with his best save of the game about a minute later on a cross-zone feed. The visitors were assessed a tripping penalty with 5:40 on the clock, and the Rabbits scored to creep into a then-two-goal-game soon after. Physicality mounted in the remaining minutes and an extra-attacker joined the zone for Greenville. Mack lit the lamp behind the empty net for his second goal of the game in the final 60 seconds and cemented the historic win for Bloomington. Porter notched an assist on the goal to mark his fifth of the game- the most points by a Bison in a single game. The five-goal first period was also a team record for goals in one frame.

Bloomington kept pace in the Central Division playoff race and sits one point behind Cincinnati, Kalamazoo and Indy, who are in a three-way tie for the final two spots in the division.

Don’t miss out when the team returns home Friday, April 17^th and Saturday, April 18^th for two great nights against the Iowa Heartlanders! Friday is a 309 Night featuring $3 Busch Lights, sodas and waters, $0 popcorn and $9 pizza combos and $9 specialty T-shirts!

Saturday is SpongeBob Night, when both teams will wear themed jerseys, the game presentation will bring Bikini Bottom to Central Illinois and fans can take home a game-worn jersey from their favorite player with a post-game auction on the ice!

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.