Ice Bears Win Sixth Straight at Home
March 3, 2016 - SPHL (SPHL)
Knoxville Ice Bears News Release
Knoxville, TN - Danny Cesarz scored the game-winning goal with less than six minutes remaining in the third period, Brian Billet made 25 saves and the Knoxville Ice Bears erased a two-goal deficit to beat the Fayetteville FireAntz 4-2 Thursday night.
It was Knoxville's seventh win in nine games and sixth straight win at home. The FireAntz have dropped seven of nine. After losing three of the first four meetings against Fayetteville this year, the Ice Bears have now won three straight against their longtime rivals.
Cesarz scored the winning goal when Trevor Hertz worked the puck through the slot to Dennis Sicard, who centered it back to an open Cesarz for his seventh tally of the season.
Fayetteville scored on the power play at 16:09 of the first when Nick Lazorko fired a bad angle shot that was redirected off of Jake Flegel's skate and over the left shoulder of Billet. The FireAntz extended the lead a minute and a half into the second when Benjamin Rubin collected a loose puck in the slot and slid a backhand past Billet.
Knoxville responded with a power play goal of its own at 8:53 of the second when Doug Reid fired a slap shot from the top of the left circle that beat Fayetteville's Parker Van Buskirk. Nearly six minutes later Jason Price slid the puck form the half board to the slot where Garrett Vermeersch put a wrist shot over Van Buskirk's glove to tie the game.
Moments after Vermeersch's goal Lazorko swatted an airborne puck off a rebound past Billet, but referee Jason Lortie waved the goal off, ruling the puck had been played off a high stick.
These two teams will play twice more in Knoxville before the end of the weekend; Friday night at 7:30 and Sunday afternoon at 3PM.
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