KNOXVILLE, TN – The Knoxville Ice Bears defeated the Louisiana IceGators 6-3 in front of a heartfelt crowd of 4,124 at the Knoxville Civic Center Saturday night.
The game started off with a bang with as Dennis Sicard squared off with Tyler Barr just: 03 into the game. Both players were escorted to their respective penalty boxes for a lengthy seven minute stay. The fisticuffs seemed to have fired up the IceGators more than the Ice Bears because Josh Boyer put the visitors up 1-0 after just minutes of play.
Knoxville equaled their opponent at 11:12 when forward Peter Neal made a great individual effort to beat netminder Matt Zenzola. The score after 20 minutes of play had the teams tied at 1.
Neal’s goal must have done something to the team as Ice Bears rattled off four goals in the middle period as Jake Johnson, Jarrett Rush, Sicard and rookie defenseman Robbie Donahoe. Barr was the only one to light the lamp for the IceGators – after 40 minutes of play, Knoxville lead 5-2.
The third period was much tighter checking as both teams traded goals – Brett Valliquette scored at 4:32 of the third and Jake Hauswirth at 10:40. When the final buzzer sounded Knoxville defeated Louisiana 6-3.
The Ice Bears return to action tomorrow evening as they travel to Columbus to take on the Cottonmouths to conclude the weekend 3 games in 3 night. Join Ice Bears fans as they gather at the Casual Pint on Northshore and Pellissippi to watch the game live at 4 pm.
Mercedes Benz of Knoxville 3 Stars of the Game
1st Star – Brett Valliquette – Knoxville 2nd Star – Dennis Sicard – Knoxville 3rd Star – Jake Johnson – Knoxville
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