Fayetteville, Knoxville carry bad blood to playoffs

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – A year ago, the Knoxville Ice Bears won their second straight SPHL President’s Cup in a thrilling seven game series over the Fayetteville FireAntz. Friday night, the two teams will begin a best-of-three series with memories and some bad blood still very fresh in the minds of the participants. Well, not some bad blood – a lot of bad blood. The eyes of the SPHL – and those of many in the world of minor league hockey – will be focused on the Crown Coliseum when the puck drops for Game 1. The game comes just six days after the regular season finale between the two in which a bench-clearing brawl and a forfeit caught the attention of hockey fans and non-fans alike. Emotions are sure to be running high and hot as the two teams, minus their coaches and a total of seven players, look to get a jump in the short series. “There are a lot of guys on Fayetteville’s team who were part of that team last year and there are quite a few players on my team that were here last year and they do remember that [final series] and we do remember that we played them 12 times this year and finished off on kind of a bad note with the incidents that happened in the last game,” Knoxville coach Marc Rodgers said. “That’s why I’m saying the emotions are going to be high, the excitement is real high, the energy is real high because both teams know each other so well.” If the Ice Bears (30-23-3, 63 points) want to lift the President’s Cup for the third year in a row, they are going to have to find a way to channel their emotions into a win in Fayetteville, something they have only done once in five meetings at the Crown. Knoxville has won seven of the 12 games between the two squads, all but one victory at home. With the first and third games in Fayetteville, the Ice Bears will have to rely on raw emotions and fast, physical play if they want to advance to face either Pensacola or Huntsville. Of course, if you are going to talk about Knoxville, the starting point is Kevin Swider.

Swider (44-58-102) finished the season with 12 points in the final two games of the regular season to win his sixth scoring title. For the first two games, he’ll be missing his suspended wingman Tim Vitek (24-49-73) who was just as hot down the stretch. Guys like Frank Furdero (19-36-55) and B.J. Pelkey (22-29-51) will have to pick up the slack for Vitek and Taylor Hustead (22-30-52) who will also be sitting out a suspension from the brawl. Rodgers is counting on the high emotions from their last meeting, added to the long history between the rivals, to fuel the Knoxville players through the first round. Rodgers admits to wanting that emotion from the bench to sustain the fast-paced action that benefits this physical team. He also knows the key to bringing the game home to Knoxville on Saturday with a check in the win column is discipline, sticking to the systems and playing simple hockey. “The big thing we’re going to have to do is play good defense and not turning the puck over at the blue line,” Rodgers said.“These guys [Fayetteville] are a very opportunistic tram and we’re going to have to take that away from them, move across the red line, get deep into their zone and fore-check them, those are the things that are going to help us down the stretch.” Standing in their way is a tough Fayetteville (31-22-3, 65 points) team. Even down four players in the first game, including team points leader Rob Sich (63-35-98) – who has 14 goals and 7 assists against Knoxville – the FireAntzare packed with offensive powerhouses like Chris Leveille (19-65-84), Mark Versteeg-Lytwyn (24-22-46), Emery Olauson (20-33-53) and SPHL Rookie of the Year Jesse Biduke (26-32-58). One thing both teams have going for them is a strong net presence. Fayetteville goalie Guy St. Vincent (23-17-0, 3.80 goals against) and Knoxville net minder Andrew Gallant (19-11-2, 3.18 goals against)share almost identical statistics, even after Gallant spent a month on the injured reserve list earlier this year. Stewart said his game plan will concentrate on good team defense and putting pucks in the net. Fayetteville leads the league in goals scored with 231. “You’ve got two powerhouse offenses, but it’s whoever pays the price and buckles down offensively will take the series,” Stewart said. Rodgers believes a major key to success against Fayetteville is defense. “They are a very good offensive team and I believe we need to move the puck forward, take it away from their offense and play some good defense if we have any chance of winning this [series],” Rodgers said. “We’re a fast team, we’re a physical team, and hopefully, we can wear them down by game two or three.” But how will the memories of last year’s finals and the last games of this season influence the players? It is hard to imagine the electricity flowing through both locker rooms as the teams prepare for to face off. Stewart believes short-term memory is essential to taking control of the game. “I’ve instructed our guys there will be no retaliation; it’s strictly business,” Stewart said. “What’s done is done and it’s over and it’s time to move on.” What will both teams have to avoid in order to take the series? For Knoxville, it is limiting errors. “We’re going to have to avoid the big mistakes, not throwing pucks up the middle, turning the puck over at our blue line, not getting the puck out of their zone, giving them breakaways,” Rodgers said. “If we can limit the big, big mistakes and make the small mistakes, we’ll be just fine.” For Stewart and his FireAntz, they will need to avoid Knoxville‘s power play. “Our guys are instructed what to do and we have a lot of veteran leadership on the team. I expect them to do their best,” Stewart said. “I think the biggest thing is penalty trouble. We’ve got to stay out of the box. Keeping it 5-on-5 play and playing a hard physical game will give us the best chance at winning.” Editor’s prediction: With key players missing on both sides, every shift will be crucial. Knoxville needs Gallant and Swider to steal the first game because Sich will be hunting for bear when he returns to the lineup in game two. St. Vincent has to perform like he did in last year’s playoffs for the FireAntz to be successful In the end, home ice will be the determining factor as the FireAntz take the series in three. Kristina Shands is an intern for the Knoxville Ice Bears Contact the author at kristina.shands@prohockeynews.com