Takeaways And Top Performances From ECHL Saturday Pre-Season Action

Like Friday, the second night of the ECHL's pre-season weekend didn't disappoint when it came to exciting, hard-hitting action.

The final scores and stats may not count, but the start of exhibition season means that hockey is back, and the regular season is just days away. Here are some takeaways and top performances from Saturday night.

When you’re an expansion team, it’s inevitable to talk about firsts, even in pre-season.

The Bison played its first-ever game in front of their home fans at Grossinger Motors Arena against the Indy Fuel. When the puck dropped, the question became obvious: Who would score the first goal for the Bison?

It took a while to find out, as the Fuel jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the first period, outshooting Bloomington 9-3.

Less than three minutes into the second, Indy extended its lead to 2-0 before the Bison woke up. At the 10:09 mark, Chongshin Lee scored the first goal in Bison history after firing a shot from the top of the circle to bring the Bloomington fans to their feet.

The Bison went on to lose the game 4-2, but it hardly mattered. Hockey is officially back in Bloomington, and the regular season gets underway Oct. 19 at home against the Toledo Walleye.

When you have a name like Tag, the jokes are inevitable. Tag Bertuzzi ended up with the last laugh on Saturday.

The Adirondack Thunder acquired the rights to Bertuzzi in July after he scored 37 points (17-20-37) in 57 combined regular-season games with the Tulsa Oilers and Reading Royals.

On Saturday, the 23-year-old left-shooting forward scored twice in the Thunder’s 4-2 win in Reading.

His first tally came at the 8:05 mark of the first period to give Adirondack a 1-0 lead.

Over 2-1/2 minutes later, Keanan Stewart made the score 2-0 at 10:42, then Alex Young increased the lead at 13:13.

After the Royals cut the margin to 3-1 at 17:15 of the second frame, Bertuzzi struck again at 9:21 of the third for a 4-1 lead. Reading scored with just 10 seconds left for the 4-2 final.

The most exciting game of the night may have taken place in Wheeling, as the Cincinnati Cyclones prevailed 5-4 in a shootout.

The Cyclones got on the scoreboard first at the 6:33 mark of the opening period, courtesy of Matt Boudens. However, the Nailers scored two unanswered goals to take a 2-1 lead into the intermission.

Jared Westcott netted the equalizer, then Alex LaPlante put the home side ahead just 1:04 later.

Tristan Ashbrook tied the score for the Cyclones 2:57 into the middle frame, before Westcott's second of the night gave Wheeling the lead back. Zachary Massicotte assisted on both tallies by the rookie forward.

Cincinnati drew even just beyond the midway mark of the frame, when Matt Murphy found the back of the net.

Massicotte added a goal to his evening at the 4:25 mark of the third period, as the Nailers took a 4-3 advantage. However, with 2:38 to go, Patrik Bajkov's power play goal forced overtime with a 4-4 deadlock.

Neither team scored in the seven-minute overtime, so the fans were treated to some extra free hockey and a shootout.

David Jankowski was the lone Wheeling goal scorer, while both Ashbrook and Kyle Bollers scored on their attempts for the Cyclones to lift them to the win.

Whew! Who says pre-season games can’t be exciting?

Hey, scorers shouldn't get all the glory; goalies need love, too.

Worcester Railers goaltender Michael Bullion made quite a splash in his debut against the Maine Mariners at Fidelity Bank Worcester Ice Center.

Bullion pitched a shutout in the Railers’ 4-0 victory over the Mariners, who won the previous night in Maine. The 27-year-old netminder stopped all 24 shots he faced, while his teammates fired 41 shots at Mariners netminders Ryan Bischel and Dante Giannuzzi.

Bullion joined the Railers earlier this week after being released from his tryout with the AHL’s Bridgeport Islanders. He certainly made a statement on Saturday that he means business.