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SPHL Knoxville Ice Bears

Ice Bears Dislodged from Second Place

March 22, 2012 - SPHL (SPHL)
Knoxville Ice Bears News Release


KNOXVILLE, TN (March 22, 2012) - The Knoxville Ice Bears fell 3-2 in overtime against the Columbus Cottonmouths on Thursday, March 22, after a controversial goal in overtime.

The battle for second place began in the Knoxville Civic Coliseum in front of a crowd of 2,517. Knoxville and Columbus each had 69 points in the league with only two more games remaining in regular season play. After tonight's overtime loss, the Ice Bears picked up one point and Columbus got 2 for the win.

Both teams went into the locker room for first intermission with a score of 0-0. Knoxville out shot Columbus 15-3 in the first, but Columbus goalie, Ian Vigier, managed to turn aside all attempts by the Ice Bears.

Although no goals were scored, there wasn't a lack of action in the period. Ice Bear Brad Pawlowski tangled with Daniel Amesbury. Pawlowski had the edge on Amesbury, delivering solid punches and a few uppercuts. Pawlowski pumped up the crowd as he skated off to the penalty box.

Columbus broke the deadlock on the power play after Mike Towns was sent to the box for charging. The goal was scored on Rank's glove side by Jordan Braid with 5:59 left in the period. Sam Bowles and Bret Tyler picked up the assists.

Just four minutes later, Columbus was on the attack again. Peter MacDougall scored on a slapshot from the point while a Cottonmouth forward interfered with Rank - impeding his ability to make the save. The Ice Bears found themselves down by two at the end of the second.

Knoxville came out of the locker room on fire for the third period. The first Ice Bears goal came from David Segal. There was a scrum in front of the net with players falling all over the ice. Segal, also down on the ice, never gave up and managed to get it in the net with assists by Eric Satim and Eric Slais.

Just 64 seconds later, Mark Van Vliet tied the game off a breakaway slapshot on Vigier's blocker side. The rest of the period was a battle to break the tie with both teams exchanging opportunities. Once again Knoxville out shot Columbus 13-9, and the players prepared for a 5:00 3-on-3 overtime.

Knoxville kept the puck in their offensive zone for a majority of the overtime period but couldn't get one in the net. With a minute left in overtime, Columbus' Sam Bowles scored the game winning goal into a dislodged net. The goal was assisted by Jordan Braid, bringing Knoxville's record against Columbus to 2-3-3 and one point behind them in league standings.

Knoxville welcomed back defensemen Jeremy Klaver for his first game back as an Ice Bear. Klaver was called up to the ECHL on December 27, 2011. He played 43 games for Cincinnati and scored 2 goals and 5 assists.

Join us back at the Knoxville Civic Coliseum this weekend for Bike Night, sponsored by Knoxville Harley Davidson. Don't miss the final game of the regular season on Saturday, March 24, as Knoxville hosts Fayetteville. The puck drops at 7:30 pm.

Mercedes Benz Three Stars of the Game

1st Star: Jodan Braid (Columbus)

2nd Star: Ian Vigier (Columbus)

3rd Star: Sam Bowles (Columbus)

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