Knoxville Ice Bears

Ice Bears prepare for Havoc

date: 04/05/2010

April 5, 2010 - After a hard-fought series with the Fayetteville FireAntz, the Knoxville Ice Bears are advancing to the semi-final round of the Southern Professional Hockey League (SPHL) playoffs. The Ice Bears are set to face the Huntsville Havoc in a best-of-three game series. Huntsville will have home ice advantage.

 

These two teams played each other 12 times in regular season. Huntsville came out the victor seven times (once in overtime and once in a shootout). The Ice Bears and the Havoc have a long-standing rivalry.

 

“Over the years the Knoxville - Huntsville rivalry has been very physical and intense, and we expect much of the same and more in a short series such as this. As two of the original four franchises of the SPHL, we are both very rich in tradition and have very passionate fans. I expect this to be an exciting round,” commented Ice Bears president and general manager Mike Murray.

 

The top six SPHL finishers made the playoffs, and now four teams remain. The Knoxville Ice Bears defeated the Fayetteville FireAntz with two overtime wins, one of which was the longest game in SPHL history. An overtime game also decided the series between the Havoc and the Pensacola Ice Flyers last night in Huntsville.  The best-of-five series between the Mississippi Surge and the Columbus Cottonmouths is tied at one game each.  The winner of that series will take on the winner of the Huntsville-Knoxville series in the President’s Cup finals.

 

“I am extremely proud of all of our players for fighting to the very end of the Fayetteville series. We had a lot of obstacles to overcome, but we did it. Now it is time to recover from the physical and mental strain and focus on how we can defeat Huntsville. It will be another intense series, but I know that our players have the heart and talent to move onto the finals,” said head coach Marc Rodgers.

The Knoxville Ice Bears have clinched playoff berths every year that it’s been a member of the SPHL in 2005. Knoxville defeated Huntsville last year in a best-of-five game series in round one of the playoffs before going on to defeat Fayetteville four games to three and become the first team to win back-to-back President’s Cup titles.

 

The schedule for round one is as follows:

Game one in Huntsville on Wednesday, April 7 at 7:30 CST

Game two in Knoxville on Friday, April 9 at 7:30 EST

Game three in Huntsville on Saturday, April 10 at 7:30 CST (if necessary)

 

Playoff packages are on sale. Call (865) 525-PUCK (7825) or visit http://www.knoxvilleicebears.com for more information.

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