For immediate release
For more information, contact: Joel Silverberg, Director of Broadcasting (865) 525-7825, joel@knoxvilleicebears.com.
Zach Wilkie had a goal and two assists and the Knoxville Ice Bears fell to the Peoria Rivermen 3-2 at the Knoxville Civic Coliseum Thursday night.
Brett Beauvais and Dino Balsamo scored for the Ice Bears. Kristian Stead made 24 saves in his first loss of the year.
Wilkie assisted on the eventual game-winner when his shot from the left point was redirected in by Braydon Barker at 5:14 of the third period.
Knoxville nearly tied the game with a late power play opportunity and Stead pulled, but a backdoor feed hit the post and the Ice Bears didn’t get another chance.
Beauvais scored his first goal of the season to put Knoxville on the board first at 3:37 of the first. Justin MacDonald slipped the puck off the right corner to Rex Moe, who skated behind the net and found Beauvais on the left side. Beauvais’ shot got past Eric Levine to give Knoxville the early edge.
Balsamo notched his first of the year less than three minutes later on the power play off a deflection. Cole McKechney passed the puck from the left dot back to Beauvais at the top of the circle. Beauvais shot the puck off of Balsamo, who was waiting at the backdoor. Balsamo redirected the puck behind Levine to make it 2-0 at 6:34. Levine was then pulled for Ben Churchfield and finished with one save.
Wilkie cut the deficit in half midway through the second when his blast from the high slot made its way past Stead on the power play. Peoria nearly evened the game before the end of the second, but Stead made back-to-back point-blank saves to keep the Ice Bears in front at the second intermission.
Mitchell McPherson tied the game for Peoria on the power play when he tapped in a rebound underneath Stead just 43 seconds into the third. Nick Pryce was assessed a two-minute minor for high-sticking after a tie-up behind the Rivermen net and McPherson scored just moments later.
Churchfield stopped all 15 shots he faced for Peoria. The Ice Bears were outshot 27-18.
The two teams will face off again Friday night at the Civic Coliseum.
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.
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