SPHL Knoxville Ice Bears

Ice Bears Fall in An Offensive Battle

Published on January 6, 2012 under SPHL (SPHL)
Knoxville Ice Bears News Release


KNOXVILLE, TN (January 05, 2012) - The league leading Knoxville Ice Bears hit home ice tonight at the Civic Coliseum for their first game of 2012 hosting the Mississippi Surge for the second time this season. The Surge ended Knoxville's home winning streak at 12 with a 6-5 victory.

The Ice Bears were the first to strike at 8:06 into the first period. A crisp pass from Mark Van Vliet set Emery Olauson up for a slap shot that ripped past Surge goalie Kiefer Smiley.

Knoxville increased their lead to 2 only 1:30 later when Eric Satim and Berkley Scott broke in on a two on one. Scott drew the defenseman to him and passed the puck to Satim who fired it in the net for a 2-0 period lead.

The second period favored the Surge. Mississippi skated on an early power play and notched their first goal of the game at the 4:28 mark. Just over 2 minutes later the Surge tied the game when Ice Bears goalie Jesse Kallechy blocked a glove-side shot that rebounded to the right and was shot in by Mark Versteeg-Lytwyn.

Olauson regained Knoxville's lead on a power play at the 9:08 mark. With his trademark slap shot, Olauson got his second goal of the game and edged Knoxville up 3-2. Van Vliet and Eric Slais were credited with the assist.

At 10:43 Mississippi tied the game at 3. Just under four minutes later they scored their fourth marker on a power play while Paul Holder was in the penalty box. Knoxville tied the game at 4 with 1:30 minutes left in the second period when Swider launched the puck past Smiley for an unassisted goal.

At the end of the second period, the score was knotted at 4 and Mississippi had peppered 19 second period shots on goal to finish with 26 to the Ice Bears 24.

Olauson claimed the lead for the Ice Bears again just 2:46 into the third period. Olauson's third goal of the game gave him his second hat trick of the season. Swider and Brett Valliquette assisted the goal.

With just 2:51 left in the game Dan Bremner was penalized for boarding giving Mississippi and much needed power play. They tied the game 1:16 into the man advantage and the teams returned to full strength with 1:35 left in the third.

Mississippi's Jeff Grant scored his second goal at the 19:09 mark putting the Surge at a 6-5 lead with 51 seconds left in the game.

The two teams will rematch tomorrow night in Mississippi. Make sure to come out to Buffalo Wild Wings and watch the game broadcast live. The Ice Bears next home game is Friday Jan. 13. The game kicks off Legends Weekend and the Ice Bears partnership with the Special Olympics. The puck drops at 7:30 as they host the Louisiana IceGators.

Mercedes-Benz 3 Stars of the Game:

1st Star: Jeff Grant (Mississippi)

2nd Star: Emery Olauson (Knoxville)

3rd Star: Nick Guran (Mississippi)

Check out the Knoxville Ice Bears Statistics

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SPHL Stories from January 6, 2012


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