Knoxville Ice Bears

Defense of the crown begins in Knoxville

date: 03/23/2009

March 23, 2009 - The Southern Professional Hockey League (SPHL) has formally announced the dates and venues for the first round of the playoffs between the Ice Bears and the Huntsville Havoc. The SPHL’s opening competition pits the #1 seeded Ice Bears against the #4 seed Havoc, while #2 Columbus will take on #3 Fayetteville.

 

The postseason puck drops at the Knoxville Civic Coliseum on Thursday, March 26 at 7:30 as the two championship-hungry teams go head-to-head. The format for the first round, as SPHL fans know, is a best-of-five series. Game number two is Friday, March 27, also in Knoxville at 7:30. On Saturday, March 28, Game 3 will take place in Huntsville 8:30CST on the B-2 network. If necessary, the fourth game will be Monday, March 30 in Huntsville. Beyond that, Knoxville will host the final game on Wednesday, April 1st if the series should extend to a full five games.

 

The winner of each series will play a best of 7 in the second round for the championship.

 

Although Knoxville finished the regular season with 79 points and a comfortable 10 point lead over second place Columbus, the fourth place Huntsville team has been preparing for the “second season” by acquiring defenseman Dylan Row in the final weeks in order to prepare for the playoffs and shore up their defense. Anything can happen in a short playoff series such as this, and our Bears know they face a formidable foe.

 

Playoff Ticket Packages are still available, enabling fans to see every home playoff game of the 2008-2009 President’s Trophy chase. You can save $9 off of each ticket when you purchase the entire package and enjoy up to 7 home games of postseason action. Remember, any un-played games will be refunded back to you, or placed toward your season ticket balance for next season.

Check out the great Ice Bear savings:

Silver - Only $35 (Box Office Price $98)

Gold - Only $49 (Box Office Price $133)

VIP - Only $70 (Box Office Price $168)

Ice Box - Only $105 (Box Office Price $203)

 

The SPHL teams, including the Knoxville Ice Bears, have been working on their playoff rosters. Two moves that the Ice Bears recently made are that Glenn Cacaro has been placed on 30-day injured reserved list and will not be available for the playoffs. In response, Forward Mark Van Vliet has been re-assigned and activated from the Cincinnati Cyclones of the ECHL.

 

The Southern Professional Hockey League has also announced today the SPHL regular season awards, and several members of the Knoxville Ice Bears have received accolades. Kevin Harris is one of the two defensemen named to the First Team All Stars. Harris was also named as Defenseman of the Year. Kevin Swider and Andrew Gallant have also been selected as First Team All-Stars as a forward and goalie, respectively. Travis Martell will join former Ice Bear Kyle Lundale on defense of the All Rookie Team, and Scott Hillman was named Coach of the Year.  These awards are voted on by general managers and head coaches of each SPHL team. The only exception is that you cannot vote for your own team.

 

Visit http://www.knoxvilleicebears.com for more information.

 

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