For immediate release

For more information, contact: Joel Silverberg, Director of Broadcasting (865) 525-7825,  joel@knoxvilleicebears.com.

Josh Nenadal and Dominiks Marcinkevics each had four points and the Knoxville Ice Bears ended the season with a 7-2 loss to Roanoke at the Knoxville Civic Coliseum Saturday night.

The Ice Bears will miss the playoffs for the first time in the 22-year history of the franchise. Roanoke will open up its first round series next week.

Anthony Cinato scored at the start of Knoxville’s first power play to give the Ice Bears a 1-0 lead at the first intermission. Justin Levac won a face-off in the left circle and the puck was rotated quickly across the perimeter to Cinato on the right side. Cinato’s one-timer found its way past Tyler Roy at 18:09 for his fourth goal of the year.

Nenadal tied the game for Roanoke by jamming in a loose puck in the crease at 2:28 of the second. Owen McDade scored off a redirect from in front at 9:47 to give Roanoke the lead. Billy Roche scored off his own rebound at 11:17 to make it 3-1.

Alex DiCarlo and C.J. Stubbs scored 15 seconds apart later int he period to make it 5-1 at 16:41.

Jonathan Bartuccio-Pereira stopped the bleeding with his first goal as an Ice Bear at 17:47. He carried the puck from his own zone, worked his way across the Roanoke blue line and put a wrist shot past Roy from the perimeter.

Stubbs and Brendan Pepe each scored in the third to cap off the final score. Kristian Stead made 34 saves for Knoxville. Roy finished with 14 stops.

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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