By WJBC Staff
BLOOMINGTON — The Bloomington Thunder fought back from three separate deficits, including a two-goal deficit in the third period, on the way to a 5-4 shootout win over the Chicago Steel and a weekend sweep.
Following a dominating 8-2 win over Waterloo on Friday night, the Thunder didn’t lead in the game until Vlad Dzhioshvili scored the shootout winner in the fourth round to give Bloomington its third consecutive win.
Chicago grabbed the momentum with a two-goal spurt in a 14-second span at the end of the second period to take a 4-2 lead to the third. But after answering two one-goal deficits in the first two periods, the Thunder would not be denied a third comeback, as they negotiated a third period comeback against the Steel for the second straight meeting.
Less than 90 seconds into the third period, Marko Reifenberger got the Thunder right back within one. From the right corner, Captain Tarek Baker found Reifenberger all the way across the ice in the left circle with a tape-to-tape pass, and Reifenberger roofed the feed over an outstretched Peter Thome make it a one-goal game.
With under 10 minutes to play, it was Griffin Lunn who came up with the game-tying goal. Lunn redirected defenseman Wyatt Kalynuk’s initial shot from the point to knot the game at four with 9:40 to play. Kalynuk picked up the primary assist for his third point of the night. Earlier in the game, he had tied the game at two with an unassisted goal on a rush into the Chicago zone.
The game stayed tied for the remainder of regulation and overtime, as both teams managed just two shots apiece in the extra session.
After Johnny Walker scored in the first round of the shootout for Chicago, Jake Durflinger tied it with a goal of his own. Thunder goaltender Logan Halladay, who came on in relief in the third period, then stopped the next three attempts he faced to set the stage for the winner.
Dzhioshvili, who had put the Thunder on the board in the early stages of the second period to tie the game at one, then slipped his shot past Thome to win the game.
Halladay faced just four total shots between the third period and overtime, but stopped all four to earn his 30th career victory with the Thunder.
Bloomington is on the road this Thursday to face Green Bay for the first of three games next weekend. The Thunder return home next weekend for a pair of games against Dubuque on Friday night and Sioux Falls on Saturday night.
