Knoxville Ice Bears

Pelkey powers Ice Bears to game 7

date: 04/16/2009

Bobby Joe Pelkey knows his only role with the Knoxville Ice Bears: Score!

Bobby Joe Pelkey knows his only role with the Knoxville Ice Bears: Score. With the Ice Bears down 3-2 in the President's Cup finals, Pelkey played the role of hero, scoring his third goal with 8:08 remaining in overtime to give Knoxville the 5-4 win over Fayetteville and push the series to a deciding game seven Thursday night.

The Ice Bears fell behind early, surrendering two goals 1:16 apart. A defensive lapse behind the goal allowed Emery Olauson to find the back of the net 4:35 into the game. Corey Hessler deflected a Rob Sich pass behind Kirk Irving to give the FireAntz an early two-goal lead. Pelkey scored his first of the night 2:31 later, redirecting a Justin Keller shot past Guy St. Vincent to bring the Ice Bears within one at the end of the period.

On a four-on-four, St. Vincent saved a Chris Rebernik shot, but deflected the puck to Pelkey, notching his second and tying the game at two all. With 5:18 left in the period, Matt Moreland pushed the FireAntz ahead 3-2.

Rebernik sent a one-timer past St. Vincent on a Frank Furdero cross-ice pass to beat the goalie high-glove side. Five minutes later, Hessler took a feed from Chris Leveille to beat Irving and give Fayetteville a 4-3 lead. Hessler's shot was uncontested and with that, the FireAntz could taste their second championship in three years. With 1:30 remaining in the game, and possibly the series, coach Scott Hillman pulled Irving to give the Ice Bears an extra attacker. The risky move paid dividends as Tim Vitek found the back of the goal with 1:11 to go, sending the Ice Bears to their fourth overtime game of the postseason.

Following a myriad of chances to end the game early, it took 8:08 for Pelkey to capture his coveted hat trick. More importantly, his third goal gave the Ice Bears one more day of hockey, tying the series at three games apiece. The Ice Bears look to capture their second consecutive President's Cup Thursday at 7:30.

Anthony Geist

 

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