Dayton (3-4-3) outplayed Bloomington but had to hang on late. At 2-0, Damian Surma missed a penalty shot after goaltender Marco Emond threw his stick at the puck. It seemed costly when Mike Zbriger scored on a power play at 18:34. But Surma answered with an empty netter to ice it.
Kyle Bochek and Tim Hartung also scored for Dayton, while rookie Bryan Hogan stopped 28 of 29 shots. Hogan wasn’t busy until late and despite missing out on his first professional shutout, he made key stops in the dying seconds to secure the win.
“You have to keep thinking to stay focused and stay engaged,” said Hogan, recalling his University of Michigan days when his team carried the play. “It’s more mental in games like this.”
Bochek got back to his ornery form. He scored the opener with a great second effort but also took an instigator penalty when he fought Travis Granbois to put Bloomington on the late man advantage.
“I asked him, ‘Are you ready to go?’ and he stuck his stick between my legs,” said Bochek, surprised by the instigator call. “I was sweating but I knew Hogie and the boys would hold on.”
There was a lengthy delay just seconds into the third period after Dayton’s Brandon Naurato was hit from behind by captain Aaron Dawson. Naurato crashed into the boards and needed medical attention. He eventually skated off with help, while Dawson received a boarding major and a game misconduct.
Dayton went up 2-0 immediately with Hartung’s power-play goal.
Painful debut: Dayton acquired forward Tim Kraus from the Wichita Thunder for future considerations. The 24-year-old from Garden Grove, Cal., was in the lineup Thursday but he had to be helped off the ice midway through the first period with an apparent injury to his right leg and didn't return.
The Gems released defenseman Rob Schweyer to make room for Kraus.
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