For immediate release

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

Jimmy Soper scored three minutes into overtime and the Knoxville Ice Bears defeated the Birmingham Bulls 4-3 at the Knoxville Civic Coliseum Friday night.

The Ice Bears have won three straight. The Bulls have lost their last three.

Soper scored the game-winner from the right side of the crease after the Ice Bears won a puck battle behind the Birmingham net. Tyler Williams knocked the puck off the wall and Soper passed it to the high slot to Dalton Skelly. Skelly feigned a shot and slid a pass back to Soper on the backdoor. Soper trapped the puck off his skate and split Hayden Stewart’s pads for his third goal of the year.

Neither team could find the net in the opening period as Stewart stopped Eric Olsen’s attempt from in front of the crease and turned aside a shot from the high slot on a Knoxville odd-man rush. At the other end, Stephen Mundinger fought off a close range shot from Drake Glover and froze a chance from the slot by Filimon Ledziankou.

The Ice Bears broke the stalemate when Mitch Atkins knocked in a rebound on the power play at 2:43. Derek Osik shot the puck from the left circle and it bounced off of Stewart before landing in front of the crease where Atkins sent it in for his fifth of the year.

Michael Gillespie tied the game with a power play goal at 10:21 with a blast from the right point.

Knoxville took the lead at 15:01 when Osik scored his second of the year. Jason Brancheau kept the puck in on the forecheck and fed it to Tyler Williams. Williams carried into the slot and slipped it to the right side of the crease to Osik for the short-range score. Osik was pushed into Stewart in the scramble and Seth Benson piled on top of the Knoxville forward. Benson was assessed a fighting major and a game misconduct.

Knoxville scored on the ensuing man-advantage when Dawson McKinney beat Stewart to the short side post with a one-timer from the right circle. Atkins collected a loose puck in the right corner and setup McKinney for his first goal of the season at 16:46.

Birmingham tied the game with back-to-back power play goals 26 seconds apart. Nikita Kozyrev scored on the 5-on-3 from the right circle and Gillespie beat Mundinger from the right wing to force overtime.

Mundinger finished with 27 stops for Knoxville. Stewart made 19 saves.

The two teams will head to Pelham to complete the home-and-home Saturday night in Alabama. Fans can attend the road game watch party at Carolina Ale House on Kingston Pike. Puck drop is scheduled for 8:05 p.m. ET.

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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