SAVANNAH, Ga. — The Savannah Ghost Pirates (21-21-2-0) posted their second straight win, defeating the Bloomington Bison (20-20-2-2) 5-3 at Enmarket Arena on Friday night.
Eddie Matsushima lit the lamp 16 seconds into the game for Bloomington, putting the visitors on the board early.
Evan Nause blasted home his third goal of the season from the right point at 7:17, assisted by Ross Armour and Dennis Cesana. Reece Vitelli finished off a great feed from Pat Guay off a Bison giveaway at 14:28, giving Savannah a 2-1 lead. Vitelli’s ninth goal of the year was his first since December 29.
Sam Coatta tied the game in the second period on a 5-on-3 power play for the Bison at 1:37. Will Riedell answered with a PPG of his own at 10:23 as Guay picked up another primary assist. Devon Paliani added to Savannah’s lead at 15:35 on a delayed penalty, which gave the Ghost Pirates a 6-on-5 advantage.
Kohei Sato struck in the third period for the Bison, but Paliani exhausted the visitors’ comeback hopes with an empty-net tally. Paliani’s 17th of the season marked a new single-season career high for the LaSalle, ON, native.
Keith Kinkaid stopped 23 saves for his sixth win of the season. Savannah outshot Bloomington 47-26, going 1-for-4 on the power play and 3-for-4 on the penalty kill.
Savannah will close out the weekend on Saturday night, taking on the Bison again on home ice. Puck drop is at 7:00 p.m. at Enmarket Arena. Get your tickets now at GhostPiratesHockey.com or follow along on FloHockey/Mixlr.
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