By Bloomington Thunder Sports Information
BLOOMINGTON, Illinois – It was a disappointing return to the U.S. Cellular Coliseum for the Bloomington Thunder in a 5-1 defeat at the hands of the Fargo Force Friday night. Fargo relied on a solid goaltending performance from Ryan Wischow (St. Lawrence University) who made 27 saves in his second straight win. Logan Lambdin scored the lone goal for Bloomington, one of his five shots on net in the game.
The Force relied on two power play goals from rookie forward Riley Tufte (University of Minnesota-Duluth) to extend the lead in both the first and second periods. Tufte’s first goal of the game was eventually the game winner. Also helping the Force with points was Denis Smirnov (Penn State University) who had three assists on the night.
Zach Yon (University of North Dakota) continued to produce for the Fargo Force, scoring the first goal of the game. The goal came with seven minutes left in the period and it was his team leading third goal of the year. Tufte’s goal in the first was one of the Force’s game high 15 shots on net.
In the second, Brody Stevens (Western Michigan University) made it a 3-0 game. He came right off the bench and caught a pass from Smirnov before putting it to the back of the net 2:12 into the period.
Hayden Lavigne (University of Michigan) made 13 saves before being replaced by Logan Halladay (University of Minnesota) in the early stages of the second. Halladay would end the period with 7 saves and a game total of 18. Tufte’s second goal was also on the power play and shot on a one timer with less than seven minutes to play in the second. At the intermission the Thunder trailed 4-0 looking for an icebreaker.
On the power play in the third, the Thunder got their wish. Lambdin battled in front of the net and was able to poke the puck past Wischow on the power play for his second goal of the season. Myles Cunningham (Brown University) and Brogan Rafferty (Quinnipiac University) each took assists on the play to get the Thunder on the board.
Penalties hindered the comeback late and the Thunder fell short in the second half of the third. Stevens scored his second of the night on an empty net with two minutes to play to end the game at a 5-1 score. The Thunder ended the night with one power play goal and stopped the Force on six penalty kills.
