Knoxville Ice Bears

Missed Opportunity

date: 03/05/2011

Ice Bears Miss an Opportunity Against FireAntz  

For immediate release. For more information please contact Dave Feather
at (865) 525-7825 / (865) 254-7825 or at
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Knoxville, TN – After a win against Huntsville last night, the Knoxville Ice Bears returned to the Civic Coliseum along with 4,316 fans to face the Fayetteville FireAntz. The stakes were high as the Ice Bears fought to increase their lead in the playoff race. Despite a dramatic comeback by the Ice Bears, the FireAntz tightened the race for the final playoff spot with an overtime goal and a final score of 4-3.

Fayetteville took an early lead with a goal by Ryan Salvis just 48 seconds into the first period. Six minutes later David Segal threw off his gloves with Fayetteville’s Dan McNeill and wrestled the much larger opponent to the ice.

Fayetteville increased their lead with 6:13 left in the period. Alexandre Lacombe beat Knoxville goalie Bryan Hince to finish the period leading 2-0.

It was the Ice Bears who kicked off the second period. Tyler Fletcher passed the puck to Segal who outworked three opponents around the net for the first Ice Bears goal of the game.

Only 3 minutes later, the FireAntz answered with a goal by the league’s scoring leader Chris Leveille and extending Fayetteville’s lead to 3-1. Multiple Fayetteville penalties gave the Ice Bears a 5-on-3 advantage. During the power play with 1:31 minutes remaining, Mike Bulawka launched a beautiful one-timer from Jon Higgins past FireAntz goalie Mike Spillane. Chris Pontes was also credited with the assist and the Ice Bears finished the period trailing by one.

Fayetteville began the third period skating 5-on-4 after an altercation that earned Robert Sich a 10-minute game misconduct and 4 minutes for roughing. The Ice Bears battled back to tie and at 14:07 Fletcher finished off an outstanding  set by Frank Furdero to beat a screened Spillane. Segal earned the second assist by keeping the play alive in the zone, completing the coveted “Gordie Howe Hattrick” and sending the game into overtime.

Knoxville skated 4-on-3 at the beginning of overtime due to a 2-minute Fayetteville penalty. The Ice Bears had three glorious chances but were bested by Spillane.  Fayetteville who broke the tie for the win, with 38 seconds left in overtime, Bobby Reed hit the net on a seemingly weak shot to win the game for Fayetteville 4-3.

The next Knoxville Ice Bears home game will be Saturday, March 19, at 7:30 p.m. against Fayetteville. Come out for Bike Night and a post game jersey auction.

Mercedes-Benz 3 Stars of the Game:
1^st Star: Chris Leveille
2^nd Star: Ryan Salvis
3^rd Star: Tyler Fletcher

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