Bison outlast Heartlanders in sprint to finish, 3-2

Iowa Heartlanders fall short in late comeback attempt against Bloomington Bison

Mar. 21, 2026 at 7:55am

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The Iowa Heartlanders fell to the Bloomington Bison 3-2 in a close game on Friday night. Bloomington goaltender Dryden McKay made 36 saves, including 14 in the third period, to hold off a late Heartlanders surge. The Bison took a 2-1 lead in the third period and added an empty-net goal, but the Heartlanders scored with 57 seconds left to make it a one-goal game before ultimately falling short.

Why it matters

This was an important divisional matchup between two teams fighting for playoff positioning in the ECHL's Central Division. The loss drops the Heartlanders to 27-25-5 on the season, while the Bison improve to 32-20-4 and solidify their hold on a top-four spot in the division.

The details

The Bison opened the scoring in the second period with a goal from Grant Porter, but the Heartlanders answered with a tally from Max Patterson to tie it at 1-1. In the third, Lou-Felix Denis gave Bloomington a 2-1 lead, and Sullivan Mack added an empty-net goal to make it 3-1. Iowa's Isaac Johnson scored with 57 seconds left to make it 3-2, but the Heartlanders couldn't find the equalizer in the final minute.

  • The game was played on Friday, March 20, 2026.
  • Grant Porter scored to give Bloomington a 1-0 lead at 13:10 of the second period.
  • Max Patterson scored to tie the game 1-1 in the second period.
  • Lou-Felix Denis scored to give Bloomington a 2-1 lead with 10:46 remaining in the third period.
  • Sullivan Mack scored an empty-net goal to make it 3-1 Bloomington with under a minute left in the third period.
  • Isaac Johnson scored to make it 3-2 with 57 seconds remaining in the third period.

The players

Dryden McKay

The Bloomington Bison goaltender who made 36 saves, including 14 in the third period, to earn the win.

Isaac Johnson

The Iowa Heartlanders forward who scored a late goal to make it a one-goal game.

Grant Porter

The Bloomington Bison player who scored the game's first goal in the second period.

Max Patterson

The Iowa Heartlanders forward who scored to tie the game 1-1 in the second period.

Lou-Felix Denis

The Bloomington Bison player who scored the go-ahead goal in the third period to make it 2-1.

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What they’re saying

“We must have left everything we had on the ice tonight. Dryden McKay was outstanding in net for them, and we just couldn't solve him in the end.”

— Isaac Johnson, Forward, Iowa Heartlanders

What’s next

The Heartlanders and Bison will play two more games this weekend, on Saturday at 7:00 p.m. and Sunday at 4:00 p.m., both in Illinois.

The takeaway

This was a hard-fought divisional matchup that came down to the wire, with the Bison's stifling defense and goaltending ultimately proving to be the difference. The Heartlanders showed fight in the late comeback attempt, but came up just short against the division-leading Bison.