Tenacious Ice Bears Bounce Back with 2-1 Overtime Win
March 2, 2024 - SPHL (SPHL)
Knoxville Ice Bears News Release
Troy Murray scored at 2:06 of the overtime period and the Knoxville Ice Bears defeated the Roanoke Rail Yard Dawgs 2-1 at the Berglund Center Saturday night.
Riley Morris made 42 saves in the win for Knoxville, which snaps a two-game skid with the win. The Rail Yard Dawgs had won two straight.
Murray sent the puck into the neutral zone and Justin Levac won it outside the blue line and fed it to Murray on the left wing. Murray carried to the top of the left circle and bombed a slap shot that Austyn Roudebush got a piece of before it found its way into the upper-right corner of the net.
Seth Ensor scored the lone goal of the opening period with a power play goal from the high slot. Knoxville worked the puck off the right wing wall and Levac fed it to Davis Kirkendall down low. Kirkendall found Ensor in the high slot. Ensor squared up and released a wrist shot that beat Roudebush's blocker at 7:01 for his fifth of the year.
Alex DiCarlo tied the game for Roanoke when a shot from the blue line hit the end boards and rebounded to the front of the crease. DiCarlo picked up the puck, swept across to the left side of the crease and flipped a backhand into an open net at 8:20 of the third.
Morris kept Knoxville in the game all night with a series of tough saves. He stopped back-to-back chances late in the first and blocked a quick rebound chance towards the end of the second. Roudebush made several key saves in overtime, denying Justin Cmunt on a breakaway and kicking away Dawson McKinney's attempt from the right circle. Roudebush finished with 23 saves.
Both teams will be back in Knoxville Friday night for two games at the Civic Coliseum next weekend.
• Discuss this story on the SPHL message board...
SPHL Stories from March 2, 2024
- Bushwackers Night Success: Ice Flyers Secure Back-To-Back Wins - Pensacola Ice Flyers
- Piotrowski & Latinovich Lead Rivermen To Blowout Victory Over Birmingham - Peoria Rivermen
- Mayhem Crash and Burn in Rocket City - Macon Mayhem
- ThunderBolts Edged 3-2 by Quad City - Evansville Thunderbolts
- Tenacious Ice Bears Bounce Back with 2-1 Overtime Win - Knoxville Ice Bears
- Dawgs Edged Out by Knoxville in 2-1 OT Loss - Roanoke Rail Yard Dawgs
- SPHL Announces Suspensions - Corrected - SPHL
- Game Preview: March 2 vs Fayetteville Marksmen - Pensacola Ice Flyers
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
