Ice Bears Steal Victory On Late Goal
Published on December 1, 2006 under SPHL (SPHL)
Florida Seals News Release
KISSIMMEE, Fla. - There is a reason why the Knoxville Ice Bears are atop the standings in the Southern Professional Hockey League and the Florida Seals got a taste of it Friday night at the Silver Spurs Arena.
Despite the two goal performance of Kahlil Thomas and two assists from new Seal Scott Corbett, the Ice Bears got a late power play goal from Doug Searle to steal a 4-3 win.
"We played well. We played one of our better games," Seals Head Coach Tommy Stewart said after the contest. "Our PK (penalty kill) was spotless all the way until the end. It was just two bad goals that cost us the victory."
Sporting three new players in the lineup, Florida needed to get off to a quick start. They got the opportunity when Knoxville's Doug Searle took an early penalty and the Seals power play clicked. Steve Zoryk fed a perfect pass from behind the goal line to Rob Sich who redirected it past Ice Bears goalie Terry Dunbar.
Less than a minute later, with the Seals short handed, Thomas took a pass from Corbett and sped down the far wing. Thomas' laser from the circle beat Dunbar for a 2-0 Florida lead. Knoxville got one of those back when Nathan Daly banked the puck off of a skate and past Seals goalie Terry Denike.
Things got wild in the second. At the 5:04 mark, Knoxville's Bob Rangus unleashed a shot from near the blue line that somehow eluded Denike to tie the score at 2-2. 22 seconds later at 5:26, Corbett sent Thomas in alone and he deked Dunbar out of position for his second goal of the night. The 3-2 lead lasted a mere 48 ticks as Searle put home the rebound of a Daly shot to knot the game at 3-3. Dunbar preserved the tie when he stopped Florida's Tim Vitek on a penalty shot late in the period.
"Our hockey team has won big games before. We've been down before," Knoxville Coach Jim Bermingham said about his team's comeback. "We just have a lot of experience on our club. The guys fought back and we'll take the two points."
For most of the third period, Denike and Dunbar stole the show. Dunbar's key sequence was during a Florida two man advantage when he made three incredible saves, two with his leg pads flying. Not to be undone, Denike absolutely robbed sniper Kevin Swider from point blank range with a wave of his glove hand.
The game came down to a Seals' penalty with 2:37 left. Knoxville was able to work the puck to Mike Tuomi. His shot was tipped up and over Denike by Searle for the game winner.
"They're in first place for a reason. They're a good hockey team," Stewart said about the Ice Bears. "We matched their intensity and outplayed them for most of the night. The difference was two bad goals by them and they won the game."
The Seals get right back into action on Saturday night as they travel up I-95 to take on the Jacksonville Barracudas. Game time is set for 7:05 P.M.
SPHL Stories from December 1, 2006
- Ice Bears Steal Victory On Late Goal - Florida Seals
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