For immediate release

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

The Knoxville Ice Bears battled with the SPHL’s top team, but the Peoria Rivermen used late goals in the second and third periods to pull away en route to a 5-1 win over Knoxville at the Civic Coliseum Friday night.

The Ice Bears have dropped four straight. The Rivermen have won four in a row.

Jake Vaughan scored off a rebound at 7:02 of the opening period for Peoria before Jordan Ernst converted a power play five minutes later to give the Rivermen an early 2-0 lead.

Jimmy Soper got Knoxville on the scoreboard late in the first with a shot from the high slot and bounced in off a Rivermen skater and into the net for his eighth of the season.

Knoxville nearly tied the game on multiple occasions in the middle frame, but a pair of backdoor feeds went wide of the net and a shot from the right circle was stopped by a sliding kick save by Jack Bostedt, who made 25 saves for the visitors.

JM Piotrowski scored off a net mouth scramble late in the second period to extend Peoria’s lead. Garrett Devine scored off a Knoxville zone takeaway in the third and Alec Baer added an empty-netter to cap off the scoring detail. Stephen Mundinger finished with 35 saves for Knoxville.

The two teams will face off again Saturday 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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