Win Streak Ends as Ice Bears Fall to Bulls

December 22, 2023 - SPHL (SPHL)
Knoxville Ice Bears News Release

Knoxville Ice Bears' Cole McKechney in action
(Knoxville Ice Bears)

Drake Glover scored twice and the Knoxville Ice Bears fell to the Birmingham Bulls 4-2 at the Knoxville Civic Coliseum Friday night.

The loss snapped a five-game win streak for Knoxville. The Bulls are 6-0-3 in their last nine games.

The Ice Bears took the lead into the first intermission when Troy Murray scored right before the end of the period with a wrist shot from the blue line. Murray took the puck from behind his own net and carried it up the right side. He weaved his way back to center ice and released a shot as he entered the zone that beat Drennon Atherton with less than a second remaining.

Birmingham tied the game early in the second when Glover blasted a one-timer past Troy Kobryn from the right circle. The Bulls took the lead midway through the period when MacGregor Sinclair punched the puck over Kobryn from the slot.

Glover netted his second to make it 3-1 with less than three minutes remaining in the third when he stole the puck from Davis Kirkendall in the neutral zone and turned it into a three-on-one. Glover finished off the rush with a give-and-go for his 14th of the year.

Matt Wiesner made it 4-1 with an empty net goal at 18:07 and Cole McKechney got one back for Knoxville with a redirect at 18:49 to cap off the scoring.

Kobryn made 26 saves in his Ice Bears debut. Atherton made 12 stops for Birmingham.

Knoxville continues its current homestead against Quad City on Saturday. Birmingham visits Huntsville tomorrow.

Check out the Knoxville Ice Bears Statistics

Images from this story

Knoxville Ice Bears' Cole McKechney in action

SPHL Stories from December 22, 2023

Dawgs Beat Marksmen in 2-1 Overtime Win - Roanoke Rail Yard Dawgs
Cmunt and Boyko Find the Scoresheet But Mayhem Fall - Macon Mayhem
Win Streak Ends as Ice Bears Fall to Bulls - Knoxville Ice Bears
Connor Green Signed, Jacob Kelly Placed on IR - Roanoke Rail Yard Dawgs
Max Johnson, Justin Michaelian Called up to Iowa Heartlanders - Fayetteville Marksmen

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.

Other Recent Knoxville Ice Bears Stories