Goaltender Mark Sinclair matched a season-high 31 saves, but the Bloomington Bison were unable to light the lamp in Wednesday's 1-0 loss to the Iowa Heartlanders.
Mark Sinclair delivered another great performance on Wednesday. The 28-year-old netminder matched a season-high 31 saves in the Bloomington Bison's 1-0 loss on Wednesday.
His only blemish came on a Will Calverley blast from the top of the point in the second period. The marker proved to be enough for Iowa, dropping the Bison to a 1-3-0-1 record in their inaugural ECHL season.
Despite the loss, Sinclair boasts an impressive 1.47 goals-against average and a .949 save percentage. Both are tops among ECHL goaltenders who have appearances in at least two games this season.
Sometimes, you just have to tip your cap to the other guy.
Dylan Ferguson was better.
The 26-year-old, who was loaned to the Heatlanders from the Iowa Wild (AHL) prior to Wednesday's game, made his first ECHL start of the season.
Ferguson stopped all 31 shots sent his way, including 15 in the third period when Bloomington made a push to tie the game.
The Bison certainly were given their fair share of opportunities.
Bloomington had two power-play chances in the first period.
The first came less than three minutes into the game when Iowa's Connor Federkow was called for slashing. However, the Bison managed just one shot on goal on the man advantage before the Heartlanders killed off the minor penalty.
With eight seconds left in the opening frame, Iowa's Jonny Sorenson was called for a slashing minor, but Bloomington could not register a shot on goal.
Meanwhile, the momentum shifted significantly in the Heartlanders' favor after killing off both penalties. Iowa registered nine of the first 11 shots on goal in the second period.
Bloomington responded with four of the next five, but Iowa capitalized on Calverly's fourth goal of the year.
After a sustained offensive zone pressure, the Iowa forward sent a one-timer just in front of the blue line. The puck sailed through a sea of traffic and found the back of the Bloomington net.
The Bison entered the final period with renewed vigor. Bloomington fired a barrage of shots on Ferguson while Sinclair saw just five in the frame.
However, the Bison were unable to find the equalizer.
Bloomington will look to get back in the win column this weekend. A two-game roadtrip in Cincinnati and Wheeling awaits, beginning on Friday, November 1.