Knoxville Ice Bears

Cottonmouths bite Ice Bears as rally falls short

date: 02/26/2009

Cottonmouths Bite Ice Bears as Rally Falls Short

Anthony Geist

            When Thursday’s game between the Knoxville Ice Bears and the Columbus Cottonmouths began, one team sat atop the SPHL with a comfortable 11-point lead, while the other was a lowly basement dweller. Judging by the play of both teams, no one in the Knoxville Coliseum would have guessed Columbus was in sixth place. Behind three third period goals, Knoxville turned a blowout competitive, but it was too little too late as the Cottonmouths used a resounding five unanswered goals to hand the Ice Bears their third home loss in four games, falling 5-4.

            The Ice Bears struck early when Kevin Swider found Tim Vitek to the right of the goal. Vitek took the offering and blasted the puck top shelf past Columbus goalie Ian Vigier during a power play to put Knoxville ahead 1-0 a mere 1:37 into the game. Two minutes later, Cottonmouths forward Tim Green collected a loose puck in front of the net after a scramble to tie the game at 1-1. At the 9:43 mark, the Cottonmouths capitalized on a power play of their own as Lorne Misita rifled a shot past sprawling Ice Bear goalie Kirk Irving to put Columbus ahead 2-1.

            As the second period rolled around, play immediately became reminiscent of the first period. A sluggish defense, coupled with an inability to capitalize on rebounds in the crease, resulted in an uneventful 20 minutes for Ice Bear fans. The Cottonmouths extended their lead to 3-1 when Green, from behind the net, found Sam Bowles for a shorthanded goal with 12:13 remaining.

            The trend continued into the third period as several defensive lapses allowed the Cottonmouths to extend their lead to 5-1 less than five minutes into the period. Green scored his second goal of the night streaking down center ice with nary a defensemen in sight at 16:25, followed by Misita’s second goal a minute later. Knoxville’s Bobby Joe Pelkey finally put another goal past Vigier, sneaking one between his pads. Following multiple short range attempts, Chris Rebernik broke down Vigier’s stone wall, deflecting a shot into the goal. Fifty seconds later, Swider added another to bring the Ice Bears within one, 5-4. Knoxville was unable to add one more in the final seven minutes, clinching the victory for Columbus.

 

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