FAYETTEVILLE, NC – Forward Chris Rebernik converted a pass from teammate Kevin Swider 15:53 into overtime to give the Knoxville Ice Bears a 3-2 victory over the Fayetteville FireAntz Friday night in game three of the SPHL Finals. The win in front of 2,113 fans at the Crown Coliseum in Fayetteville gave Knoxville a 2-1 series lead heading into game four Saturday night.
âGood win. We had lost home ice advantage in Knoxville with that loss in game two,â said an obviously drained Knoxville coach Scott Hillman..
The first period was a defensive struggle as both teams played cautiously. Fayetteville managed only four shots against Kirk Irving who started in goal for the Ice Bears. Despite the low number of shots, the FireAntz got the first real scoring opportunity of the game on a penalty shot midway into the opening stanza.
FireAntzâ forward Marc Norrington intercepted an attempted clearing pass by Knoxville at their blue line and broke in one on one against Irving but was tripped from behind before he could launch his shot. Norrington was awarded a penalty shot at the 11:54 mark but Irving, who looked to be beaten on the att empt, somehow recovered and made a sprawling leg save as Norrington couldnât quite lift the puck up over the prone goaltender.
The first periodâs only score came at 16:10 when rookie defenseman Travis Martell, who was named to the regular seasonâs SPHL All-Rookie Team, worked hard to keep the puck in the offensive zone and then worked the puck loose from a scrum along the boards and sent a centering pass to forward Ryan Moore who was alone in the slot. Moore used a wrist shot and beat âAntz goalie Guy St. Vincent on his stick side.
The second period featured more offense and more end to end play. Fayetteville was especially active, blasting 18 shots at Irving in the period. The FireAntz struck first at 7:47 to tie the game at 1-1 when forward Mike Ruberto lifted a backhander over Irving. The goal came after Irving had stopped multiple shots from a swarm of FireAntz and in traffic. Rob Colangelo and Lawne Snyder got assists on the tally.
Knoxville countered less than two minutes later. St. Vincent made an initial save on a shot by Shaun Norrie but the puck bounced over his shoulder and trickled behind him, slowly inching towards the goal line. Forward Frank Furdero made sure the puck went by, tapping the puck into the net to put Knoxville back in front.
Two back-to-back penalties set up Fayettevilleâs second goal of20the period which tied the game 2-2. A hooking call followed by a high sticking penalty gave the home team a five on three man advantage. Irving and his left goal post stopped the FireAntz during the two man advantage but Emery Olauson hit on a back door shot while the Ice Bears were still one skater down. Bob Rapoza and Snyder got the assists on the score at 16:36.
The third period featured a number of end to end rushes by both teams and both goalies made excellent saves on point blank shots. Neither team was able to convert on third period power plays and a number of the best opportunities for both teams actually occurred as they were killing penalties. Despite the offensive action, regulation time ended with the score tied 2-2.
In the overtime, both teams had numerous chances as the teams played the extra session with very few stoppages of play. The end-to-end action also featured a number of outstanding defensive plays as just when it looked like a scoring opportunity was developing, someone stepped in to thwart the potential winning shot or intercept the setup pass.
In the end, while Knoxville got the win on the OT goal by Rebernik, Coach Tommy Stewart and his FireAntz could easily have been the winners in the game. The home team will no doubt look to build on that fact Saturday in game four.
Knoxville General Manager Mike Murray was pleased with his teamâs effort.
âIt helped that we came in a day early and were rested and ready to go. It was a great win for us,â he said.
Game NotesâŠIrving was Hillmanâs only option in net Friday night. SPHL Goaltender of the Year Andrew Gallant did not accompany the team to Fayetteville. He was hurt in practice earlier in the week and team and medical personnel are still evaluating the extent of his injury. The Ice Bears signed A.J. Bucchino, an experienced backup goalie who played for Amarillo in the CHL but under league rules, he could play only if Irving was injured during the game or thrown out of the contestâŠKnoxvilleâs power play continued to misfire as they went 0-for-5 on the man advantage. They are just 3-for-18 in power play opportunities in this series. Fayetteville went 1-4 and have connected on three of eight man advantage chances in the series.
Contact the author at Phil.Brand@prohockeynews.com Catch all the playoffs at Intotheboards.net
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