For immediate release
For more information, contact: Joel Silverberg, Director of Broadcasting (865) 525-7825, joel@knoxvilleicebears.com.
Carson Vance had a goal and an assist. Stephen Mundinger made 13 saves in relief duty and the Knoxville Ice Bears held on to defeat the Roanoke Rail Yard Dawgs 4-3 at the Berglund Center Saturday night.
Matt Dorsey scored for Roanoke in the final minute of the opening period when he collected a loose puck in the neutral zone, sped up through the left circle and cut across the front of the crease to put the puck past the outstretched leg pad of Tyriq Outen.
Outen made several key saves over the first 20 minutes to keep the Ice Bears within reach. He stopped Khristian Acosta’s shot from in front of the crease after the puck came loose and kicked away Gustav Müller’s follow-up try. After helping the Ice Bears kill off the only power play of the period, he stopped Matt O’Dea’s one-timer from the right circle with the glove.
Knoxville had its own chances in the first. Tyler Williams’ shot from the right circle deflected wide and Brody Claeys stopped Eric Olson’s point blank attempt from the right side of the crease.
Knoxville tied the game with a power play goal by Vance at 3:50 of the second. Blake Tosto fed the puck to Vance at the center of the blue line. Vance skated to his left and lifted the puck through the slot and beat Claeys’ blocker.
Andrew Kurapov scored his first professional goal when he roofed a snap shot over Claeys’ glove at 8:46. Williams pushed the puck up the ice to Kurapov, who made his way to the right dot before snapping the puck top shelf to give Knoxville its first lead.
Brendan Dowler made it 3-1 with a wrist shot from the slot at 18:09. Jarret Kup made a saucer pass to Jimmy Soper at the right point. Soper found Dowler in the slot with his back to the net. Dowler turned to his right and fired a shot over Claeys’ left shoulder.
Jason Brancheau made it 4-1 at 5:25 of the third thanks to a centering feed from Eric Olson. Brancheau skated open into the slot and his wrist shot beat Claeys up high.
Midway through the third, Outen went down with an apparent injury during play and left the game. Mundinger came in relief to close out the game. Outen finished with 29 saves.
Dorsey scored his second of the night from the slot at 11:17. Corey Doney scored from the point less than a minute later. Travis Broughman was shown to be offside on the entry leading to Doney’s goal, but the score was upheld, making it 4-3 with eight minutes remaining.
Roanoke threw chances at the net, but Mundinger kept Knoxville in front. He stopped O’Dea twice from the right circle and gloved a redirect through the slot. Broughman and Trey Fechko each his the short side post and Knoxville was able to hang on until time expired.
The two teams will face off for the third consecutive game Friday night back in Knoxville.
ABOUT The Knoxville Ice Bears: The Knoxville Ice Bears organization began in 2002 and was an inaugural charter member of the Southern Professional Hockey League (SPHL) in 2004. As four-time SPHL Champions and five-time regular season champions, the Ice Bears are an experienced and established organization, offering the city and its visitors a balanced product of highlight-reel hockey, unique and exciting intermission activity and endless fan interaction, presenting the most affordable, family-friendly way to enjoy sports and entertainment. Season, Partial Season and Flex Tickets are now on sale. For more information, visit www.knoxvilleicebears.com or call (865) 525-7825.
-xxx-
