Grizzlies Lose 3-1 in First Ever Game in Bloomington
Bloomington, Illinois – The Utah Grizzlies got a late second period goal from Keaton Mastrodonato and they outshot the Bloomington Bison 15 to 2 in the third period but it wasn’t enough as Utah fell 3-1 in their first ever meeting at Grossinger Motors Arena on a Friday night.
Jake Murray got the Bison on the board 10:08 into the contest. Bloomington led 1-0 after 20 minutes of play, outshooting Utah 11 to 6 in the frame and 34 to 29 in the contest. The Bison are now 10-0 when leading after one period.
Bloomington scored 2:10 into the second period as Chongmin Lee redirected a Matt Staudacher shot for his eighth goal of the season. The Bison extended their lead to 3-0 when Jared Westcott scored his 3rd of the season 13:55 in. Utah got on the board on a Mastrodonato slap shot from the right wing with 1 second left in the second period. Mastrodonato now has a point in 4 straight games and a point in 11 of his last 12 Games. Luke Manning and Neil Shea each picked up their 11th assists of the campaign.
Neither team scored in the third period despite Utah holding a 15 to 2 advantage in the shot count. Neil Shea led Utah with 8 shots on goal. Mastrodonato had 4 shots for the Grizzlies, who fell to 11-20-3 on the season. Bloomington is 6-1-1 over their last 8 games, outscoring opponents 30 to 15.
Utah was 1 for 4 on the power play and 3 for 3 on the penalty kill. Grizzlies goaltender Jake Barczewski kept the club within striking distance as he stopped 31 of 34. Bloomington’s Yaniv Perets saved 28 of 29.
The weekend series continues on Saturday night at 6:05 pm. The Grizzlies return to Maverik Center for a three game series against the Wichita Thunder on January 24-25, 27. Face-off all three nights are at 7:10 pm and tickets are available at utahgrizzlies.com
3 stars
1. Yaniv Perets (Bloomington) – 28 of 29 saves.
2. Chongmin Lee (Bloomington) – 1 goal, +2, 4 shots.
3. Jake Murray (Bloomington) – 1 goal, +1, 3 shots.
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