Dzhioshvili’s late goal sends Thunder past Cedar Rapids

bloomington thunder logoBy WJBC Staff

BLOOMINGTON – Vlad Dzhioshvili netted the go-ahead goal with 44 seconds left in regulation, as the Bloomington Thunder scored three times in the final period to come from behind to knock off Cedar Rapids, 3-1, on Sunday at the Bloomington Coliseum.

Making his first USHL start, Thunder goaltender Zach Stejskal backstopped his first career win with 24 saves on 25 shots to help Bloomington (24-26-5-3, 56 pts) earn three of a possible six points in a three-game weekend.

Cedar Rapids had the first goal of the game, taking a 1-0 lead 2:07 into the second period, but Bloomington battled from behind to tie the game in the third period for the second straight night.

It was Marko Reifenberger who evened the score with the fourth goal of his rookie campaign. Outnumbered on a zone rush, captain Jake Durflinger found Reifenberger in the slot. After nearly having the puck poke checked away, Reifenberger regained control of it and fired a snap shot past RoughRiders netminder Drew DeRidder at the 5:46 mark of the frame.

Heading toward overtime for the second straight night with less than a minute left in the third, the Thunder broke the tie thanks to their leading scorer, Dzhioshvili. Moments before the game-winner, Dzhioshvili had a first look at a potential go-ahead goal but had his snap shot from the slot stopped by an outstretched DeRidder. Durflinger located the rebound behind the net and immediately refed Dzhiosvhili perched at the top of the crease for the game-winning one-timer.

Alec Mehr added an empty-net tally just 30 seconds later to seal the win.

Dzhioshvili’s game-winning goal was his fourth of the season. His tally was also the Thunder’s latest go-ahead goal in regulation this season. Bloomington’s latest game-winner prior to Sunday also came against Cedar Rapids, as Mitchell Mattson tallied with 2:17 left in the third period of a 4-2 win against the RoughRiders on Nov. 5.

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