For immediate release
For more information, contact: Joel Silverberg, Director of Broadcasting (865) 525-7825, joel@knoxvilleicebears.com.
Knoxville scored four goals in under three and a half minutes and the Ice Bears rallied from an early deficit to defeat the Macon Mayhem 6-3 Saturday night at the Civic Coliseum.
The win helps Knoxville (14-3-2) bounce back from a pair of losses at Peoria last weekend. Macon (3-16-1) has dropped two straight.
The Ice Bears nearly took the lead during a 5-on-3 power play, but a shot from in front of the crease hit the upper-right corner of the post and a one-timer by Stepan Timofeyev was saved by Dillon Kelley.
Moments after the power play, Scott Coash fielded a puck in transition from Don Carter Jr. Coash ripped a wrister from the top of the left circle that beat Kristian Stead’s glove at 11:15 of the first to give Macon a 1-0 lead going into the first intermission.
Devin Brink extended Macon’s lead at 3:41 of the second. Macon won the puck off the Knoxville wall and fed it back to Brink at the point. Bring twirled and made his way across the slot, where he found space in the left circle and made an uncontested shot past Stead’s blocker for his fifth goal of the year.
Alex Pommerville got Knoxville on the board with his third goal of the season at 12:36 of the second. Pommerville took the puck coast-to-coast, made a move by a defenseman to get open down low and zipped the puck past Kelley.
Sam Turner tied the game for the Ice Bears just one minute and 16 seconds later. Colton Fletcher carried the puck up the left wing and fired a saucer pass from the left circle to the right where Turner put a wrist shot by Kelley for his third of the season. J.B. Baker scored 15 seconds later to give Knoxville its first lead of the night.
Less than two minutes after the third goal, Razmuz Waxin-Engback blasted a one-timer from the slot over Kelley to give the Ice Bears a two-goal lead at the second intermission. After Timofeyev’s point-blank shot was turned away by Kelley, Timofeyev collected the rebound behind the net and found Waxin-Engback in front of the net.
After Coash pulled the Mayhem within one with his second of the night, Andrew Bellant snuck into the zone, stole the puck and swept across the front of the crease before lifting a backhand over Kelley to make it 5-3 with 2:26 remaining. Waxin-Engback scored an empty netter with 36 seconds left to finalize the scoring.
Knoxville will be off until next Sunday when it hosts Roanoke the day after Christmas. Macon will travel to Huntsville to face the Havoc that same day.
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, 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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