The Denver Cutthroats scored three goals in the third period as part of a comeback effort on Friday night, but ultimately fell short to the Bloomington Blaze in a 6-4 final at US Cellular Coliseum in front of a crowd of 2,437. The Cutthroats trailed 6-1 entering the final frame after Bloomington tallied a five-goal second period to take control of the game. AJ Gale finished with a four-point night for the Cutthroats (19-14-4), tallying a pair of goals and assists. Troy Schwab was Denver's other multi-point scorer with a pair of assists on the night. The Blaze (20-15-1) were led offensively by Nicklas Lindberg who scored two goals and an assist. Both of Gale's goals came in the third period as part of the Cutthroats comeback effort at 3:32 and 11:43. The forwards second goal came just 21 seconds after Ben Wilson made it a 6-3 deficit from the point in his first game back from the American Hockey League. Matthew Larke on the power play, Matt Punureri, Lindberg, Dan Barczuk, and Jared Walker each scored in Bloomington's second period outburst. JP Chabot on the power play at 6:17 and Lindberg from the left circle at 11:16 each scored in period one. Kent Patterson took the loss stopping 25 of 31 shots through the first two periods. Kieran Millan took over goaltending duties for Denver in the third turning away all nine shots he faced. Pier-Olivier Pelletier earned the win with 15 saves. Denver finished 1-for-4 on the power play. Bloomington went 1-for-3. Gale now sits second overall in the Central Hockey League's scoring race with 50 points on the season (23 goals, 27 assists). The Cutthroats continue their Midwest swing on Saturday when they visit the Quad City Mallards for the second meeting of the season. Puck drop is set for 6:05 PM MST.
