For immediate release
For more information, contact: Joel Silverberg, Director of Broadcasting (865) 525-7825, joel@knoxvilleicebears.com.
Jordy Stallard scored twice in the final two and a half minutes and the Knoxville Ice Bears rallied late to defeat the Macon Mayhem 4-3 at the Knoxville Civic Coliseum Friday night.
The Ice Bears have won four of their last five games. The Mayhem have dropped five straight.
Stallard tied the game when his one-timer from the left circle was deflected off his stick and flipped over Josh Boyko’s left shoulder into the net at 17:38. Dawson McKinney carried the puck up the left wing and into the corner. His centering pass found Stallard’s stick before the shot deflected past Boyko.
Knoxville took the lead when Stallard poked in the puck with 57 seconds remaining. Cam Hough’s initial shot in the high slot was blocked back to him. His follow-up attempt hit the left post and trickled across the crease to the right side where Stallard swept in and poked it into the net for his fifth goal of the year.
Macon scored first when Adam Eby’s shot from the blue line found its way through Cody Karpinski at 6:02. Jake Goldowski won the puck off the left-wing wall and slid it across to Eby. Eby’s shot snuck into the net underneath Karpinski’s arm and skipped across the goal line.
Riley Robertson tied the game with his first of the year when his one-timer from the right point hit Tommy Munichiello’s stick and knucklepucked over Boyko’s glove. Justin Levac slid the puck across the zone to Tyler Rollo, who dropped it up top to allow Robertson to tee off on it.
Goldowski gave Macon the lead again when he stole the puck off Jason Price’s stick and carried it into the zone where he created space in the high slot before releasing a wrist shot past Karpinski at 14:09. Goldowski gave Macon a two-goal lead at the intermission when he stole the puck behind the Knoxville net and fed it to Justin Cmunt in the left circle for a quick shot that made its way over Karpinski at 17:08.
Hough cut into the lead during the second period with a power play goal from the high slot. Tyler Rollo tapped the puck up to the left point to Price, who slipped it to Hough. Hough found the top shelf of the net for his sixth of the year on the power play at 7:16.
Karpinski kept Knoxville in the game with a kick save from right in front of the crease late in the second period to help kill off the only Macon power play of the night. He made another key save off a shot from the slot and finished with 19 stops on the night. Boyko made 22 saves for Macon
The two teams head to Macon Saturday night to wrap up the home-and-home.
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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