For immediate release
For more information, contact: Joel Silverberg, Director of Broadcasting (865) 525-7825, joel@knoxvilleicebears.com.
Brandon Picard scored twice, Zane Steeves made 33 saves and the Scruffy City Shiners defeated the Fayetteville Marksmen 5-2 Friday night at the Civic Coliseum.
Troy Murray, Brett Mecrones and Rex Moe also scored for Knoxville. Derek Osik and Sam Dabrowski each had two assists.
The Coliseum acknowledged captain Jason Price before the game in honor of his 700th career SPHL game. Price is the league’s all-time leader in games played by any player and the SPHL’s all-time leader in goals, assists and points by a defenseman. The 2022 SPHL Defenseman of the Year has played 351 of his 700 games with Knoxville.
Picard gave Scruffy City a 1-0 lead at 12:44 when his wrist shot from the slot beat Ryan Kenny for his first goal with his new club. Dabrowski fed the puck from the right corner into the slot and found Picard in space, where he was able to put a shot by Kenny’s blocker for the only goal of the first period.
Fayetteville had chances throughout the opening 20, but Steeves denied a close-range attempt by Skate Skalde and Dalton Hunter hit the post from the right circle.
Murray gave the Shiners a 2-0 lead early in the second with a wrister from the left circle. Osik collected the puck in the neutral zone, made his way to the slot and slipped the puck to Murray who put home his third of the season.
Fayetteville got on the board when Connor Fries lifted the puck over Steeves at 8:12 on the power play. Justin Daly stole the puck at the blue line and found Fries in the slot.
Picard answered quickly for Scruffy City when he found the far side post from the right circle less than a minute later. Dabrowski’s shot from the left side deflected to Picard and the follow-up blast found the twine for his second goal of the game.
Steeves protected the lead through the second period by stopping a one-timer from the slot and kicking away John Moncovich’s redirect.
Mecrones added to the Shiners’ lead in the third period when he capitalized on a yawning net at 4:57. Brendan Dowler sent the puck to the slot from the right point. Justin Levac redirected the pass to Cole McKechney on the left side of the crease. McKechney sent it across to Mecrones, who sent the puck on net for his first goal since arriving in East Tennessee.
Matt Arujo scored on the power play by beating Steeves through traffic at 10:27.
Moe scored on an empty net with 21 seconds remaining to conclude the scoring detail. Kenny finished with 27 saves.
Scruffy City heads to Roanoke on Saturday. Fayetteville returns home to face Macon Saturday night.
ABOUT The Scruffy City Shiners: The Scruffy City Shiners are a one-night-only promotional branding of the Knoxville Ice Bears professional hockey team. The Shiners are 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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