Traditions collide when Surge, Ice Bears meet

BILOXI, MS – By all accounts, the Knoxville Ice Bears should not be so excited to face the number one seed Mississippi Surge in the first round of SPHL playoff action. After all, the Surge did win the season series and finished as the back-to-back Coffey Trophy winners as regular season champs for the second straight season. Then again, Mississippi has never been a party to playoff hockey against arguably the best team in the history of the league when it comes to post-season play.
When the two teams take to the ice in game one of the best-of-five series Friday

at the Mississippi Coast Coliseum, it will be a battle of two traditions – one that has spanned the entire existence of the league against one that is still in its infancy but growing stronger.
The Ice Bears have much to fear from this strong Surge team. First, Mississippi leads the regular season series three victories to two, with all three wins coming on home ice. Secondly, Mississippi is 8-2 in its last ten games while Knoxville is just 6-4 in the same period. The Surge dominated six of their last seven games, giving up only 12 goals thanks to the return of veteran superstar goalie Bill Zaniboni. Thirdly, the return of Zaniboni gives Mississippi a boost of leadership in the locker room and a rush of energy on the ice. The Ice Bears have not faced Zaniboni in net this season, but there is little doubt the talent that earned him the 2009-10 SPHL Goaltender of the Year award is still there.
Knoxville, on the other hand, enters the postseason with two rookie goalies between the pipes, and while number one goalie Bryan Hince (15-14, 2.86 goals against average, .917 save percentage)has been solid for the team, winning five of his last six games, the acquisition of back-up goalie Tommy Lee adds to the pressure of the struggling defense to protect the puck in their zone.
The regular season for Knoxville was nothing like they have experienced. Rookie coach Mike Craigen had the daunting task of icing a team that for the first time in six years would not have Kevin Swider as its captain. Although Craigen made several roster moves during the season,the Ice Bears failed to find any real sense of consistency and floundered near the bottom of the standings.
It is not all gloom and doom for freshman coach Craigen. The surprise trade for SPHL all-time leading goal scorer Rob Sich has proved to be a brilliant move. Sich has racked up 13 points (8 goals, 5 assists, plus-6), including two goals and an assist against Mississippi, since sporting the Ice Bears sweater. Knoxville’s Frank Furdero, Eric Slais and Tyler Fletcher join Sich at the top of the points list, with Furdero (21-42-63 points) and Slais (14-23-37) notching 11 points each over the last ten games and Fletcher (14-20-34) earning 10 points in end-of-season action.
Powerful leadership from Mike Bulawka (18-16-34) and David Segal, (10-13-23, plus-12) along with the return of key scorers Emery Olauson (29-28-57) andSPHL Defenseman of the Year Mark Van Vliet (14-28-42) from injury, should make the team a strong force on the ice. This is a team that knows what it means to hoist the President’s Cup and they are ready to take back what they believe is theirs. Bragging rights are on the line for rookie coach and a team that has been anything but consistent throughout the season.
Mississippi head coach Steffon Walby has something to prove after being swept in the final round of playoffs by the Huntsville Havoc. With the addition of Zaniboni(7-0, 1.68 goals against average, .942 save percentage) and points maker Mark Versteeg-Lytwyn, as well as the return of Rusty Masters (21-28-49) from the Central Hockey League, Mississippi will be difficult at both ends of the ice.
Right-winger Michael Richard (18-44-62) and forward Jason Beeman (23-20-43) lead the pack against Knoxville, with Richard scoring four goals and six assists against the Ice Bears and Beeman earning twogoals and seven assists in five games against the Ice Bears. In his only game against Knoxville as a member of the Surge, Versteeg-Lytwyn (24-33-57) had two goals and an assist.
Knoxville’s defense seems to be coming together with the return of Van Vliet to join newcomer Chris Pontes, veteran Martin Kubaliak, Jim Jensen and Dan Mercer.Mississippi’s blue liners Jeff Winchester, Jack Wolgemuth and Nick Klaren have proven they can score, too, with 29, 28 and 26 points on the season, respectively.
During the regular season, Knoxville’s power play against Mississippi scored three goals on 18 opportunities for a success rate of 16.7 percent but the Ice Bears gave up two short-handed goals. The Surge, who have had the benefit of a superior man advantage unit for its entire run in the SPHL, lit up Knoxville for eight goals on 30 power playchances for a gaudy 26.7 success percentage. The Surge have out shot the Ice Bears 225-119 in the five meetings, another sign of just how high-powered the Mississippi squad is.
While the statistics may show the series should go Mississippi’s way, don’t count out the Ice Bears just yet. They are hungry and focused and ready to go. Both teams have something to prove. It comes down to who wants is more. Thankfully for the fans, these two teams have five games to figure it out.
Editor’s Pick: The numbers are definitely all in favor of Mississippi. The Surge can crank up the offense at will so Knoxville will have to keep Mississippi from skating them out of the arena. The Ice Bears have plenty of offense as well but they can’t afford to take too many chances that will leave the defensive corps facing odd-man rushes by the Surge. The Ice Bears will also need to stay out of the penalty box which could be an issue because Mississippi is probably the best in the league in drawing penalties (in one game, the Surge had more than 23 minutes of power play time to less than 30 seconds for Knoxville). In the end, Mississippi takes this series in four games and makes a return trip to the finals.
Kristina Shands is a media consultant with the Knoxville Ice Bears and contributing writer for the blog, Chicks Who Give a Puck.
Contact the author at kristina.shands@prohockeynews.com