Ice Bears Ground Thunderbolts in 3-0 Shutout Win
Published on March 6, 2026 under SPHL (SPHL)
Knoxville Ice Bears News Release
Logan Flodell made 28 saves for his first shutout as an Ice Bear, Jason Brancheau scored twice and Knoxville blanked the Evansville Thunderbolts 3-0 at the Knoxville Civic Coliseum Friday night.
Jared Westcott also scored for Knoxville and Derek Osik had two assists.
Brancheau scored the only goal of the first period to give Knoxville a 1-0 lead at the break. With the teams skating four-on-four, Osik slid a pass from the right point to Billy Roche in the left circle. Roche skated towards the crease before sending a backdoor feed to Brancheau for the tap-in at 14:07 for his sixth of the season.
Evansville nearly tied the game early in the second period, but Flodell flashed the leather to stop Ellis Laaksonen's shot from in front of the crease. Flodell later denied a shorthanded breakaway chance and Carson Vance blocked the rebound attempt from the slot.
Westcott took a neutral zone pass from Osik and carried up the middle to the high slot. He fired a wrist shot that beat Kristian Stead's blocker to make it 2-0 at 12:18. Stead made 33 stops for the Thunderbolts.
Brancheau netted his second of the game when he scored from the left circle at 16:14. Robin Liljekvist blocked a clearing attempt at the Evansville blue line with his skate and the puck bounced to Brancheau, who fired on net to give the Ice Bears a three-goal lead at the second intermission.
The two teams will face off again Saturday night at the Civic Coliseum.
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