Knoxville Ice Bears

Ice Bears New year’s good fortune

date: 01/05/2009

January 5, 2009 - Some people can only wish that they have New Year’s resolutions that start off this well. 

The Ice Bears are kicking off 2009 with a double dose of good news. 

First, the hard-charging Knoxville hockey team learned that their energetic forward Mike Carter, the 28-year-old forward from Cambridge, Ontario, was named the Sher-Wood Player of the Week for the Southern Professional Hockey League (SPHL).  Carter, in his second year with the Ice Bears, scored 3 goals and had 8 assists in 5 games last week. 

“Over the past couple of weeks, Mike Carter has really worked hard to improve his game and help lead the Ice Bears to first place. When he is on top of his game, he is truly one of the top players in the SPHL,” commented head coach Scott Hillman.

Secondly, the Ice Bears moved into first place by virtue of a solid 7-4 win over the Richmond Renegades on Sunday night.  An aggressive three-goal performance by Kevin Swider led the scoring, with two goals from Carter adding to the damage.  Knoxville won two out of three games over the weekend, edging Columbus on Friday night 2-1 and letting Richmond squeak out a 5-4 win on Saturday.  However, Saturday’s loss was the result of a shootout, thereby awarding Knoxville a valuable point in the tight race for first.  Huntsville could not keep their season-long momentum, and after losing to the Twin City Cyclones on Saturday, the Havoc watched their perch atop the SPHL being taken over by the Ice Bears. 

Knoxville’s 40 points gives them a 2 point edge over Huntsville and a 7 point cushion over Richmond.  Their New Year’s fortunes will be tested on Thursday as they go to Huntsville to play the now second-place Havoc. Then the Ice Bears will return home to play back-to-back home games on Friday and Saturday.

Visit www.knoxvilleicebears.com for more information.

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