ECHL Game Recap: Bloomington Bison vs Atlanta Gladiators | 01/31/2025

For the first time ever, the Bloomington Bison and the Atlanta Gladiators clashed in the opening game of their thrilling three-game series. Adding to the importance of the evening, Atlanta hosted “Stick it to Cancer Night,” making the game even more special for those in attendance. The Gladiators took a heartfelt pause to honor cancer survivors, support those currently fighting the battle, and remember those we’ve lost. The Gladiators donned specialty jerseys with the names of those being honored that had been submitted by the Gladiator faithful. It was a night filled with emotion, unity, and a powerful sense of community.

Starting Line – Bloomington Bison

Jake Murray, Bryce Montgomery, Brett Budgell, PJ Fletcher, Patrick Bajkov, and Yaniv Perets (Goaltender)

Starting Line – Atlanta Gladiators

Jeremy Hanzel, Derek Topatigh, Carson Denomie, Ryan Cranford, Joey Cipollone, and Drew DeRidder (Goaltender)

Period 1

The Gladiators nearly scored when Blake Murray almost slipped the puck past Yaniv Perets. They continued to apply pressure on the Bison, who eventually managed to create some space. However, as the Bison struggled to clear their zone, the Gladiators maintained their relentless pace. The Bison finally took a shot on Drew DeRidder, but he successfully made the save while the Bison maintained possession of the puck in Atlanta’s zone.

The Bison made another attempt on the net, but DeRidder prevented it from scoring as the puck soared high over the goaltender’s glove. A missed pass from the Gladiators was intercepted, and the Bison almost managed a shot on DeRidder, but he pushed it down with his glove. Bloomington successfully defended their net, preventing a shot from Atlanta. A high-sticking penalty called on Bryce Montgomery gave the Gladiators their first opportunity for a power play at 13:10. Patriks Marcinkevics took a shot that came close to scoring, but it was Ryan Cranford’s one-timer that just missed the net. Jeremy Hanzel also made an effort to score, but his attempt was blocked. Anthony Firriolo’s pass to Cody Sylvester nearly found its mark, while Perets went down as Murray almost managed to slip his shot past him. Perets bounced one out that was sent in.

Following an intense exchange of puck battling between both teams, highlighted by impressive plays from Hanzel and Topatigh that left Atlanta fans in awe, the period concluded without any goals. Both goalies showcased remarkable performances in their respective nets, keeping the score at zero.

Period 2

The Bison seized the puck off a pass and took a shot at DeRidder, who skillfully caught it with his glove. Blake Murray executed a poke check, and Perets successfully saved the following shot taken by Murray. A pop-up shot by Carter Berger was easily gloved by DeRidder. After DeRidder dived down to retrieve the puck, Gavin Gould snagged it and scored, giving the Bison a 1-0 lead at 4:13. Eventually, Eric Neiley reached his limit and took down Matt Staudacher behind the net after being cross-checked several times without a penalty being called. Staudacher and Neiley both received double minor penalties for roughing and headed to the penalty box at 5:18.

Restored to their full strength, the Gladiators made a pass up the ice, but the Bison eventually cleared it. A delayed penalty was called after Neiley was held; he still tried to make the shot while prone on the ice. Montgomery went to the sin bin for two minutes after being called for holding at 12:44. On the power play, Gould shot on the net but DeRidder eventually stopped it. Both teams returned to full strength and continued to battle for the puck. A shot from the right by the Bison’s Brett Budgell was gloved by DeRidder.

Following the faceoff, the Gladiators almost had a clear opportunity at the net when a shot by Joey Cipollone was just barely stopped by Perets. Randy Hernández had his own look at Perets, but nothing found its way into the goal, as Atlanta made some solid strikes on the netminder. Josh Boyer headed to the box for slashing at 16:35. Cody Sylvester almost scored, and Murray attempted to rebound it into the net but unfortunately missed, just hitting it off the crossbar. Afterwards, the Bison almost achieved a breakaway goal, but the puck was defended effectively by Atlanta.

At the end of the period, the score remained 1-0 in favor of Bloomington.

Penalties:

Period 3

A pass directed in front of the net to Eric Neiley almost resulted in a goal for Atlanta, but Perets was able to save it. Later, Drew DeRidder blocked Kohei Sato’s attempt on the net. A sliced shot to the net by Patriks Marcinkevics nearly found its way in but was denied. On the other end, the Bison put up their second goal as Patrick Bajkov found his way past DeRidder, with assists from Brett Budgell and Bryce Montgomery at 2:47.

The Bison thought they had their third goal, but it was waved off by the officials. However, the Gladiators went on the penalty kill when Randy Hernández was sent to the sin bin for too many men on the ice at 5:27. The Bison did get their third goal when a bouncing puck made its way over the top left shoulder of DeRidder. The goal was scored by Patrick Bajkov with assists from Josh Boyer and Carter Berger at 6:38. The Bison now led by a score of 3-0.

Dylan Carabia took a shot on Perets’ net, but it missed just as the buzzer sounded for the stoppage of play. Off the faceoff, Brenden Datema nearly had a chance at the net, but Perets made another stop. Later, the Bison got the best of DeRidder once again after Gavin Gould passed the puck to Sam Coatta, forcing DeRidder to the side, and Coatta made the net. The time of the goal was 9:19, with assists from Eddie Matsushima and Gould. We now have a 4-0 game in favor of Bloomington.

With less than eight minutes left on the clock, the Gladiators were determined to break the shutout maintained by the Bison. The Bison kept the Gladiators in their own zone, with Bryce Montgomery making a shot that was stopped by DeRidder. Then, he found his way past DeRidder at 13:45, giving the Bison a decisive 5-0 lead and earning Patrick Bajkov a hat trick for Bloomington on that score, assisted by Brett Budgell and Jake Murray.

The Gladiators were given a power play chance when Carter Berger of the Bison was penalized for interference at 14:21. However, the Bison killed the penalty off and returned to even strength without the Gladiators having a chance to score.

Jeremy Hanzel made a strong attempt on the net, but Perets successfully cleared it away. After a huge hit up along the boards, play continued, but Brenden Datema threw a massive hit on Maxim Barbashev, sending him flying. The refs intervened to stop the two from going further, sending Datema to the box for roughing at 17:22. Later, Jeremy Hanzel was involved in that fight with Linus Hemstrom and headed off to the locker room after it ended.

Another Bloomington player was dragged down by Joey Cipollone as he took on Eddie Matsushima. After that Zach Yoder is sent to the box and putting the Bison on a 5-on-3 power play at 17:40. Then, yet another scrum occurred in front of DeRidder after he made the stop, with Jeremy Hanzel getting in the face of Linus Hemstrom.

Out of the box, the Gladiators nearly ended the shutout with a shot by Blake Murray, but he narrowly missed the net.

The game ended 5-0 in favor of Bloomington.

Goals and Assists:

Penalties:

Final Score

Bloomington defeated Atlanta with a final score of 5-0.

Three Stars of the Game

1. Y. Perets (BLM) – Recorded a shutout with 33 saves
2. P. Bajkov (BLM) – Scored a hat trick, including a power-play goal, and added an assist.
3. S. Coatta (BLM) – Contributed with a goal.

Summary

Atlanta struggled throughout the game, unable to find the back of the net despite outshooting Bloomington in the first two periods. The team faced a tough challenge against Bloomington’s strong defense and stellar goaltending by Yaniv Perets, who recorded a shutout. Penalties also disrupted Atlanta’s momentum a bit, leading to missed opportunities and allowing Bloomington to capitalize on a power play.

• First Period: Both teams played intensely, but neither managed to score. The Gladiators had more shots on goal (14) compared to the Bison (5).
• Second Period: Gavin Gould scored the first goal for the Bison at 4:13. The period ended with Bloomington leading 1-0.
• Third Period: The Bison extended their lead with goals from Patrick Bajkov (2:47 and 6:38), Sam Coatta (9:19), and another from Bajkov at 13:45, earning him a hat trick.

Atlanta will have a chance to redeem themselves tonight at 7:00 PM when they face Bloomington again at Gas South Arena