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NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A is on the lam again in New Orleans, gaining fame as he outwits a tenacious band of citizens armed with night-vision binoculars, nets and a tranquilizer rifle. Scrim, a 17-pound mutt that’s mostly terrier, has become a folk hero, inspiring tattoos, T-shirts and even a ballad as he eludes capture from the posse of volunteers. And like any antihero, Scrim has a backstory: Rescued from semi-feral life at a trailer park and adopted from a shelter, the dog broke loose in April and scurried around the city until he was and brought to a new home. Weeks later, he’d had enough. Scrim leaped out of a second-story window, a desperate act recorded in a now-viral video. Since then, despite a stream of daily sightings, he’s roamed free. The dog’s fans include Myra and Steve Foster, who wrote “Ode to Scrim” to the tune of Ricky Nelson’s 1961 hit, “I’m a Travelin’ Man.” “I’m a travelin’ dog and I’ve made a lot of stops/All over this town...” Leading the recapture effort is Michelle Cheramie, a 55-year-old former information technology professional. She lost everything — home, car, possessions — in in 2005, and in the aftermath, found her calling rescuing pets. “I was like, ‘This is what I should be doing,’” Cheramie said. “I was born to rescue.” She launched Zeus’ Rescues, a nonprofit shelter that now averages 600 cat and dog adoptions a year and offers free pet food to anyone who needs it. She helped Scrim find the home he first escaped from. It was Cheramie’s window Scrim leaped from in November. She’s resumed her relentless mission since then, posting flyers on telephone poles and logging social media updates on his reported whereabouts. She’s invested thousands of dollars on wildlife cameras, thermal sensors and other gear. She took a course offered by the San Diego Zoo on the finer points of tranquilizing animals. And she’s developed a network of volunteers — the kind of neighbors who are willing to grid-search a city at 3 a.m. “...And at every stop I own the heart, of at least one lovely ... “ People like writer David W. Brown, who manages a crowd-sourced Google Map of all known Scrim sightings. He says the search has galvanized residents from all walks of life to come together. As they search for Scrim, they hand out supplies to people in need. “Being a member of the community is seeing problems and doing what you can to make life a little better for the people around here and the animals around you,” Brown said. And neighbors like Tammy Murray, who had to close her furniture store and lost her father to Parkinson’s disease. This search, she says, got her mojo back. “Literally, for months, I’ve done nothing but hunt this dog,” said Murray, 53. “I feel like Wile E. Coyote on a daily basis with him.” Murray drives the Zeus’ Rescues’ van towards reported Scrim sightings. She also handles a tactical net launcher, which looks like an oversized flashlight and once misfired, shattering the van’s window as Scrim sped away. After realizing Scrim had come to recognize the sound of the van’s diesel engine, Murray switched to a Vespa scooter, for stealth. “...If you’re ever in the 9th Ward stop and see/My cute little mini poodle ...” Near-misses have been tantalizing. The search party spotted Scrim napping beneath an elevated house, and wrapped construction netting around the perimeter, but an over-eager volunteer broke ranks and dashed forward, leaving an opening Scrim slipped through. Scrim’s repeated escapades have prompted near-daily local media coverage and a devoted online following. Cheramie can relate. “We’re all running from something or to something. He’s doing that too,” she said. Cheramie’s team dreams of placing the pooch in a safe and loving environment. But a social media chorus growing under the hashtag #FreeScrim has other ideas — they say the runaway should be allowed a life of self-determination. The animal rescue volunteers consider that misguided. “The streets of New Orleans are not the place for a dog to be free,” Cheramie said. “It’s too dangerous.” “... and my Shar-Pei doll down in old Treme/Waits for my return ...” Scrim was a mess when Cheramie briefly recaptured him in October, with matted fur, missing teeth and a tattered ear. His trembling body was scraped and bruised, and punctured by multiple projectiles. A vet removed one, but decided against operating to take out a possible bullet. The dog initially appeared content indoors, sitting in Cheramie’s lap or napping beside her bed. Then while she was out one day, Scrim chewed through a mesh screen, dropped 13 feet to the ground and squeezed through a gap in the fence, trotting away. Murray said Cheramie’s four cats probably spooked him. “I wholeheartedly believe the gangster-ass cats were messing with him,” Murray said. Cheramie thinks they may have gotten territorial. Devastated but undeterred, the pair is reassessing where Scrim might fit best — maybe a secure animal sanctuary with big outdoor spaces where other dogs can keep him company. Somewhere, Murray says, “where he can just breathe and be.” ___ Brook is a corps member for The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues. Follow Brook on the social platform X: @jack_brook96 Jack Brook, The Associated Press
Shares of Hywin Holdings Ltd. ( NASDAQ:HYW – Get Free Report ) shot up 3.6% during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $0.78 and last traded at $0.69. 122,922 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 16% from the average session volume of 145,872 shares. The stock had previously closed at $0.67. Hywin Stock Performance The stock has a market cap of $19.88 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 0.74 and a beta of -0.11. The business’s 50 day moving average is $0.93 and its 200 day moving average is $0.60. Hywin Company Profile ( Get Free Report ) Hywin Holdings Ltd., through its subsidiaries, provides wealth management, asset management, health management, insurance brokerage, and other financial services in China. It operates through two segments: Wealth and Health. The company distributes asset-backed products, such as real estate securitization products, as well as equity investments in real estate projects or private project companies; venture capital, private equity, and hedge funds; and supply chain financing and cash management products. Featured Articles Receive News & Ratings for Hywin Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Hywin and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter .NoneNone
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California’s card rooms lost a costly legislative fight this year as they sought to kill a bill that would allow their competitors, tribal casinos, to sue them. But that didn’t stop the gambling halls from punishing a handful of lawmakers for their votes after Gov. Gavin Newsom signed the gambling bill into law. In an extraordinary display of political retribution, California’s card room industry spent more than $3 million in the lead up to the November election to oppose four lawmakers who played key roles in the bill’s passage. Three of the candidates targeted by the card rooms ended up losing, including the rare defeat of an incumbent Democratic senator. “We really don’t want to be the sort of, you know, the Rodney Dangerfield of industries. We want to be respected,” said Keith Sharp, a lawyer for the Hawaiian Gardens Casino, a card room in Los Angeles County. “We (will) work hard to continue to gain respect and protect our employees, protect our cities, protect our businesses.” To the card rooms, the three defeats were a sign their money was well spent, even if the cash went to purely punitive purposes. Case in point: Two of the lawmakers who lost their races were vacating their Assembly seats and were running in non-legislative races. Had they won, it’s unlikely they’d deal very often with card room related issues. Tribes have long outspent card rooms in state politics. Tribes have given candidates for state office more than $23.5 million since 2014. That’s more than double what oil companies have given the state’s politicians during the same years. Card rooms have spent only a fraction as much. More recently, tribes have contributed $6.3 million to candidates since January 2023 while card rooms have donated at least $1.3 million. Those funds don’t include the $3 million the card rooms spent targeting the four candidates this fall. The cash the card rooms poured into the four races sends a message to lawmakers that they’re also capable of spending big, including on political vengeance, said former Democratic Assemblymember Mike Gatto. “Any time you have a group essentially announcing to the world that they are going to do vengeance spending, it does cause lawmakers to pay attention,” he said. The bill Newsom signed, Senate Bill 549 , gives tribes the ability to ask a judge to decide whether card rooms are allowed to operate table games such as black jack and pai gow poker. The tribes, which will be able to sue beginning Jan. 1, say California voters gave them exclusive rights to host those games, but they’ve been unable to sue the state’s 80 or so card rooms because tribes are sovereign governments. The stakes are high since some cities receive nearly half of their budgets from taxes on card rooms, meaning a tribal victory in court could jeopardize money for police, firefighters and other local services. The card rooms insist their games are legal, but they also worry the cost of court fights could force them out of business. Facing what they saw as an existential threat, card rooms responded to the bill’s introduction last year with a massive lobbying blitz. Hawaiian Gardens Casino alone spent $9.1 million on lobbying, the second highest amount reported to state regulators last year. Only the international oil giant, Chevron Corp., spent more. Despite losing the legislative battle, card rooms spent more than $3 million on attack ads, text messages, mailers and other outreach to voters targeting the four candidates. The card rooms also bought ads supporting candidates running against them. The ads came from independent expenditure committees funded by the card rooms. Under state and federal election rules, organizations not affiliated with a candidate can spend unlimited amounts of money supporting or opposing candidates through advertisements and other tactics as long as the actions are not coordinated with the candidate’s campaign. Only one candidate, Laurie Davies , a Republican from Oceanside, won her race for reelection despite the card room’s cash onslaught. And just barely. Only 3,870 out of 230,546 total votes separated her from her Democratic challenger, Chris Duncan. The card rooms spent at least $1.3 million on outreach boosting Duncan and slamming Davies, according to state campaign finance reports. One mailer said she was aligned with “anti-choice radicals,” “MAGA extremists” and “Big Oil.” Davies infuriated card rooms when she cast a vote that let the gambling bill advance out of a committee this summer, despite having a cardroom in her district. Outgoing Democratic Assemblymember Evan Low of Cupertino faced similar attacks in his failed congressional bid. Low sat on the same Assembly committee as Davies and voted this summer for the gambling bill. Low also had a major cardroom in his Assembly district. Low’s campaign didn’t return a message seeking comment. The card rooms spent at least $500,000 on ads attacking Low, according to the card rooms. The card rooms also went after termed-out Democratic Assemblymember Brian Maienschein in his failed bid for San Diego city attorney. The card rooms spent at least $443,000 opposing Maienschein. He got on the card rooms’ bad side when he cast a key vote that let the bill advance from the Assembly Judiciary Committee, which Maienschein chaired. Sharp, the lawyer for Hawaiian Gardens, said Maienschein also refused to meet with him and other card room representatives before the vote. Maienschein didn’t return messages. A TV ad from the card rooms attacked Maienschein for his voting record before he switched his party affiliation from Republican to Democrat in 2019. Fullerton Democratic Sen. Josh Newman, the lead author of the gambling bill , wasn’t spared even though he represented a competitive district that was important to the Democratic Party. The card rooms spent at least $900,000 in that race that paid for ads and mailers opposing Newman and supporting his Republican opponent, Steven Choi, according to the card rooms and campaign finance reports. Newman, the state’s most vulnerable senator who’d been recalled from office once before, ended up losing to Choi by 6,075 votes out of the 458,615 cast in the race. It was the first time since 1980 that a Republican flipped a Democratic senate seat in a presidential election. Newman had a $6 million fundraising advantage over Choi. Choi raised just $856,000. In one card-room funded TV ad, Newman was portrayed as being soft on crime, and it attacked him for voting to give benefits to “illegal immigrants” In an interview with CalMatters, Newman said he didn’t think the card room ads made as much of an impact on the race as another independent expenditure committee that opposed him with more than $1 million from a prominent public employee union . But Newman acknowledged the card rooms probably did send at least some voters to Choi. “The margins probably matter in a race as close as mine,” Newman said. Still, Newman told CalMatters he has no regrets about introducing the bill despite the blowback and the possible impact the card rooms had in his senate race. Newman said he believes the tribes deserve their day in court. But he said he doesn’t see the logic in the card rooms spending so much money on races after they already lost their fight in the Legislature. “The question really is: If you shut the barn door after the horse is out, who are you really punishing?” he said. CalMatters data reporter Jeremia Kimelman contributed to this story.BLOOMINGTON — Nearly half an hour into the first game of their existence, the Bloomington Bison found themselves trailing 2-0. After five years without professional hockey in the Twin Cities, as the new ECHL team kicked off its inaugural run with a lone preseason game, questions hung in the air. What does hockey mean to Bloomington-Normal? And what does Bloomington-Normal mean for hockey? The Bison's ownership group, Hallett Sports & Entertainment, also owns the Indy Fuel, a well-established ECHL franchise with a decade under its belt in the Indianapolis area to solidify its fanbase and space in the community. Bloomington Bison forward Chongmin Lee (77) looks at a video replay during a break in play against the Toledo Walleye on Saturday, Dec. 14, 2024, at Grossinger Motors Arena. Bloomington, on the other hand, has had four different hockey organizations at Grossinger Motors Arena since it opened in 2006. The USHL Central Illinois Flying Aces were the most recent, but they were not at the highest level of play hosted by the venue. That distinction belonged to the defunct Bloomington Thunder of the SPHL, a professional ice hockey independent minor league a step below the ECHL with no NHL affiliate organizations. While a preseason game generally means little to the overall outlook of an organization, uncertainty gnawed at the hockey fans who remembered welcoming other teams — and bidding them farewell. Some wondered whether the Bison, offering the highest level of professional sport seen in the Twin Cities, would succeed. Could they? Suddenly, lightning flashed. Someone wearing a white Bison sweater with the number 77 on his back flew up the wing into the offensive zone — a two-on-one break — snapped a wrist shot and breathed life into the fanbase with the team's first-ever goal. Chongmin Lee, a 25-year-old forward from South Korea, skated to center ice, hugged his teammates and absorbed the joyful noise of the crowd. The moment's significance was not lost on him. "I want people to know that everything we do achieve, it's going to be the history of the Bloomington Bison," he said in a recent interview. Less than three months after that first game, Lee's contributions have continued to drive the team's early successes. Heading into Saturday night's home game against the Kalamazoo Wings, he and captain Eddie Matsushima tied for the highest-scoring players with 19 points each. Lee also led the team in assists with 15 and was among a handful of Bison who had played in all 26 games. Nearing the midpoint of the season, Lee spoke with a Pantagraph reporter inside the locker room at Grossinger Motors Arena after a recent practice. Bloomington Bison forward Chongmin Lee (77) tries to regain control of the puck from Toledo Walleye's Mitchell Lewandowski (67) in the first period on Saturday, Oct. 19, 2024, at Grossinger Motors Arena. He was barefoot, wearing shorts and a T-shirt. A large bag of ice, taped around his right thigh, slowly melted onto the floor as Lee talked about growing up with hockey, moving across oceans to pursue his passion and working toward his hopes for the Bison and their host city. "It's really special, for sure ... Everything we do, everything we accomplish, it's just history," he said. "So, yeah, I really appreciate it. And I want to make this year special for myself and for the team." Building a team In January, the ECHL — a professional developmental hockey league equivalent to AA in minor league baseball — accepted Hallett Sports & Entertainment's application for an expansion team in Bloomington. That team would become the 29th in the ECHL, which serves as a proving ground for some players on their way to the higher American Hockey League and National Hockey League. Later in May, the New York Rangers were announced as the Bison's primary NHL affiliate, and Phillip Barski was named head coach and general manager for the 2024-2025 season. (The Carolina Hurricanes also later announced a working agreement with the Bison.) Bloomington Bison forward Chongmin Lee (77) speaks with captain Eddie Matsushima (15) after the team scored a goal against the Iowa Heartlanders on Wednesday, Nov. 27, 2024, at Grossinger Motors Arena. Filling the roster was the first item on Barski's to-do list. "It's a very big undertaking, you know," he said. In other professional sports leagues, the addition of one or more new teams coincides with an expansion draft. Existing teams will select a number of players to "protect" from the draft, and the new teams can build a roster from the "unprotected" players. Most recently, the NHL held an expansion draft in 2021 when the Seattle Kraken were formed. The ECHL is a different story, though. "There's no expansion draft here," Barski said. Building a team meant marketing Bloomington-Normal to prospective players, many of whom had never been to Central Illinois. "It was very challenging to recruit this team because nobody knew anything about Bloomington," Barksi said. "They didn't know where Bloomington, Illinois, was." At the start of 2024 , Lee was playing for HL Anyang in the Asia League in South Korea. A friend from their national team had an advantageous connection, Lee said. "My buddy from (our) national team, he had an awesome agent. I asked him, 'Can I talk to him?' ... I said I'm interested in going to the ECHL. And he said he will work on it," Lee said. Bloomington Bison forward Chongmin Lee (77) stands next to forward Eddie Matsushima (15) during a hockey game Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024, at Grossinger Motors Arena. "I really like playing with him," Lee said of Matsushima, the team captain. When Barski received "some random email from an agent that I didn't know about who had (Lee) on a list," he was intrigued. "It didn't take very long for us. We watched a couple of shifts (with Lee), and I was like, 'Oh my God,' you know," the coach recalled. "His athleticism jumps out at you. His speed jumps out at you. His physicality jumps out at you. The shot. "I mean, it was a pretty quick process on our end to be like, 'Oh my god.' Like, 'We want this guy in our locker room. We want him to be a part of the organization.' ... We jumped on it pretty fast," Barski said. The attraction was mutual, Lee said. Soon, he was headed for Bloomington, over 6,500 miles from the home in Seoul, South Korea, where his love of the sport began. Chasing dreams Lee's passion for hockey took root at a young age. "There (were) not many hockey rinks back home when I was really young," he said. Still, both of his older brothers found a way to play the sport. At one of their practices, when Lee was just 5 years old, his dad asked if he would like to play, too. A young Chongmin Lee and a teammate in South Korea are shown in this provided photo. "I said yeah," Lee recalled. "And then we got all the random hockey gear (that was) left, I put it on, and I went on the ice. That was my first (hockey) memory." Lee found success on the ice in South Korea, but "I always thought about going overseas (to) play hockey." At just 15 years old, he got that chance when an agent connected him with the Vancouver North East Chiefs of the British Columbia Elite Hockey League. Lee's brothers encouraged him to seize the moment. Such an opportunity "doesn't come as often, so I should take it," Lee said, recalling their advice. "So I did." Lee packed everything up, traveled across the Pacific Ocean and settled into western Canada, where he finished school while playing hockey — and learning a new language. "It was a challenge for me," Lee said. "I wasn't able to speak any English back then." Despite the communication barrier and distance from his family, Lee thrived on the ice and built a community with his teammates, he said. "I don't have family here (in North America)," Lee said. "So I wanted someone ... people like my teammates to be my family." Those same teammates drove Lee to continue playing and pursuing his dreams, he said. Seeing his friends advance and playing at higher levels of hockey — from junior hockey to the college level and beyond — pushed him forward. "After college, they wanted (to) go pro, so I wanted (to) go pro," he said. "So, yeah, that kind of ... (kept) motivating me." After playing for the Chiefs, Lee joined the BCHL , a junior hockey league in British Columbia, Canada. From 2017 to 2020, he played for the Spruce Kings in Prince George, some 320 miles north of Vancouver. A young Chongmin Lee playing for Prince George's Spruce Kings in Canada. His journey would hit a major snag in 2020, when he had been slated to play for the University of Alaska-Anchorage. The COVID-19 pandemic and budgetary issues led to the university to cancel the season and ultimately end the program. "I didn't have a team for a year," Lee recalled. "That was a really hard time for me." In 2021, he crossed another ocean — this time, to Sweden — to keep his hockey dreams alive. During his two years in the land of the Vikings, Lee played for Nässjä HC and Tranås AIF, two semi-professional organizations. About 140 miles southwest of Stockholm, the Swedish municipality of Tranås has a population of roughly 15,000. Such a stark contrast with Lee's previous homes — the Vancouver metro area has 2.6 million residents, Seoul over 9 million — made it harder to connect with people, he said. "Obviously, they speak really well in English, but they still speak (more often) in Swedish," he said. "And I was in a really small town." Though Bloomington-Normal is no Seoul, Lee said it has proven more similar to the "second home" he experienced while playing in Canada. "It feels comfortable," he said. 'Ready to go, all the time' The Bison list Lee at 5 feet, 11 inches tall and 185 pounds — not the biggest person on the ice . While he also isn't the smallest, outranking several of his teammates in height and weight, Lee acknowledged that his size can be a disadvantage. "I'm not a big guy. And when I (went) to Canada the first time, I was really young, and my body wasn't ready," he said. "My body wasn't built to play against like, 6-1, 200-pound guys." The average height in the ECHL , according to data on eliteprospects.com , is 6 feet, 1 inch, and players' average weight clocks in at just over 191 pounds. Compare that with the NHL average of 6 feet, 2 inches and 201 pounds , and it becomes clear that Lee is punching up, as it were. He had to adjust how he played after leaving South Korea, he said: "Use my speed, make a quick play, not hang on to (the puck) too long. Yeah, speed, obviously is (the skill) that I need to focus on." Bloomington Bison forward Chongmin Lee (77) stands in front of Kalamazoo Wings goaltender Ty Young (33) during the second period of a game on Saturday, Dec. 28, 2024, at Grossinger Motors Arena. Lee is meticulous about his diet and conditioning, Barski said, working just as hard off the ice as he does on it. "He really takes care of his body. I mean, when you see him, he's like a physical specimen," Barski said. "You know, he's not the tallest, necessarily, but he's built really well. And he takes a lot of pride in that ... he's a consummate professional." The way Lee attacks the offensive zone with his quickness has two primary effects, Barski said: 1) puts the defense on their heels and 2) speeds up his teammates. Barski "We talk a lot about ... slowing the team down and speeding our team up. Those, to me, are like a two-pronged approach," Barski said. "So his ability to speed the game up slows down the other team and puts them in some really tricky situations." Matsushima, listed as the same size as Lee, brings a similar style of play. "I think I learned a lot from him, actually," Lee said of Matsushima, whose ECHL experience includes three seasons with the Tulsa Oilers. "I see him, how he uses his speed, and I added that to my game. And then I started seeing (the game better). I start playing more comfortable and confident." Matsushima said the two have had a connection from the start, largely due to their shared speed and approach to the game. "We're both just just very similar players in the sense that we're just ready to go all the time," he said Saturday night. "We just kind of have the understanding that when one of us says to go, there's no second thought. We both just go." That speed, combined with seeing the game slowed down, is what led to Lee's fateful first goal. "Coach always says, 'See play, make play.' If you don't see it, don't force it," Lee said. Driving through the offensive zone that day, Lee was joined by fellow forward Gavin Gould, No. 91. "I saw Gouldie on the other side (of the ice). I couldn't make that pass," Lee said. Instead of forcing a tough pass, "I just, like, shot it. I shot the five hole (between the goalie's legs), and it went in." Lee hopes whatever success he finds, coupled with his discipline and consistent practice, will help to inspire his teammates, as well. "I think, when guys are looking at me, 'If that guy can do it, everyone else can do it (too),'" he said. Locking into a steady work ethic, day in and day out, can be tough, Barski said. "Things in pro hockey can get very monotonous," he said. "You show up at the same time. You do the drills ... So it kind of becomes this malaise." Professional athletes, by their nature, are highly motivated. But that doesn't necessarily make coaching and practicing at a high level easy, Barski said. "The trickier part, potentially, is — how do you make it fun?" he said. Such an approach involves looking at the hockey player as a whole, not simply who he is on the ice or in the locker room. "We'll do that in a multitude of ways," Barski said, "whether we're doing, like, a team bonding activity here where we're doing something a little different, out of the ordinary, or, you know, just having individual meetings, checking in with the guys." Bloomington Bison forward Chongmin Lee (77) watches the play during a game against the Kalamazoo Wings on Saturday, Dec. 28, 2024, at Grossinger Motors Arena. The goal is a culture that encourages players to be excited about practice and open to coaching. "Obviously, we're a new team with a new organization, we will take a little bit of time" to develop the team's character and culture in the locker room, Lee said. Some of the Bison players are in their first ECHL season. "We have lots of rookie guys and guys who are coming from junior hockey. So we need, we definitely need a little more time ... for that culture," Lee said. "But it's coming. It's coming, and we're getting better and better every day." Moving forward While some ECHL players could be a few years or even months away from making it in the NHL, many still have a lot to learn. "If they knew everything, they wouldn't need us. We'd be out of a job," Barski said with a chuckle. One area in which Lee has shown improvement is on-ice communication, he said. "He's quiet," Barski said. "And that might be a culture thing. We're actually trying to pull that out of him, especially on the ice." Not that being quiet and reserved is a bad thing, the coach added. "You know, at the end of the day, we don't want anyone to be anything that they're not. If you're quiet, be quiet," Barski said. "But on the ice, it is a little bit of a detriment to be quiet because one of the ways to, obviously, help a teammate is by communication." After a few months with the Bison, Lee has started opening up and talking more during drills, practices and games. Bloomington Bison forwards Chongmin Lee (77) and Eddie Matsushima (15) return to the ice after a break in play during a game against the Toledo Walleye on Saturday, Dec. 14, 2024, at Grossinger Motors Arena. "We feel comfortable that he feels comfortable that we can start trying to ... add that to his toolbox, so to speak," he said. Part of the newfound comfort might come from Lee's off-the-ice activities. "I do hang out with our teammates when we don't have games," he said. "And I went to Chicago one time. It was fun." One thing he'd like to do, when he has a chance, is catch a Chicago Blackhawks game live to see star center Connor Bedard . Drafted No. 1 overall by Chicago in 2023, Bedard hails from North Vancouver, British Columbia — next to Lee's old stomping grounds in Canada. And who knows — Lee could find himself sharing ice with Bedard one day. After all, at least five of his teammates have been called up to the Bison's American Hockey League affiliate, the Hartford Wolf Pack, at various times this season. Playing for the team in Connecticut would put Lee one step away from the NHL. Until then, you can catch him on the ice at Grossinger Motors Arena, his number 77 a blur as he races up and down the ice. WHAT: Bloomington Bison vs. Kalamazoo Wings WHEN: 3 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 29 WHERE: Grossinger Motors Arena, 101 S. Madison St., Bloomington THEME: Sunday Family Fun Day. Kids get a voucher for a free hot dog, chip, cookie and soda. There will also be a postgame skate with Bison players. TICKETS: $20-$71, available at bloomingtonbisonhockey.com or Ticketmaster, or call the Bison ticket office at 309-965-4373, ext. 2. Lifelong hockey enthusiast Adam Morris follows the growth of the Bloomington Bison in their first season. The ECHL holiday break is over. As the Bison face the Kalamazoo Wings in a weekend set that includes two home games, here's a look at what to expect. Are there parallels between the Bloomington Bison and their primary NHL affiliate? Columnist Adam Morris checks out the New York Rangers in person. The Bison are in their third month of existence, but their presence in Bloomington-Normal has already started to take root. After their five-game run against the Iowa Heartlanders ended with two consecutive losses, the Bloomington Bison can look forward to a change of scenery — and opponent. As we bask in the glow of holiday decorating and Thanksgiving leftovers, columnist Adam Morris takes stock of his gratitude as a Central Illinois hockey fan. When the Bison and Iowa Heartlanders play, penalties will be a factor. There have been 171 penalty minutes handed out, including 13 roughing calls and nine major penalties. Power plays, leadership and stamina: Three takeaways from the Bloomington Bison's first winning weekend at Grossinger Motors Arena. As the Bloomington Bison lose their top goaltender to a higher league, a grueling schedule in the coming weeks could become the team's proving ground. The Bloomington Bison's owners believe fans will be impressed with the higher level of play at Grossinger Motors Arena — but that only works if they're there to see it. Are you struggling to keep up with the Bison's ever-changing roster? You're not alone. Here's why the new Bloomington hockey team is uniquely positioned in its league — and how it could be an advantage. "Was it a little disappointing that the Bison did not come out of last weekend with a win? Of course. ... What I did see, though, felt just as encouraging." It's always exciting to see the start of something new. That's what fans are getting with the Bloomington Bison — on the ice and behind the glass. When the Bloomington Bison drop the puck in their preseason matchup Saturday, it will represent potentially best chance for sustained professional hockey in the Twin Cities. Contact D. Jack Alkire at (309)820-3275. Twitter: @d_jack_alkire Looking for more Bison coverage? Check out our new pages on social media! Facebook: facebook.com/bisonhockeyextra Instagram: instagram.com/bisonhockeyextra X (formerly Twitter): x.com/bisonextra Get in the game with our Prep Sports Newsletter Sent weekly directly to your inbox! General Assignment Reporter {{description}} Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items.