For immediate release
For more information, contact: Joel Silverberg, Director of Broadcasting (865) 525-7825, (865) 282-9566 joel@knoxvilleicebears.com
Brett Beauvais scored at 4:42 of the overtime period and the Knoxville Ice Bears defeated the Birmingham Bulls 3-2 at the Knoxville Civic Coliseum on Saturday night.
The win is a franchise-best ten in a row for the Ice Bears. The Bulls have lost three straight and fell in overtime for the second time in as many nights.
Mathieu Roy carried the puck into the zone, weaved through the right circle, and fed a backhand pass in front of the crease where Beauvais crashed the blue ice and put the puck past Zach Quinn to complete the comeback for Knoxville after the Ice Bears trailed 2-0 to start the third period.
Knoxville nearly scored first when Lincoln Griffin had the puck on his stick from a backdoor feed in the left circle, but Zach Quinn managed to stop the puck with his stick despite being out of position and Griffin facing an open net midway through the first period.
Birmingham scored early in the second period when Chris Lijdsman found Anthony Collins in the right circle on an odd-man rush. Collins hit the top shelf over a diving Austyn Roudebush to put the Bulls in front at 1:50.
The Bulls increased their lead when Logan Nelson chased Beauvais down from behind the net, stole the puck and found Jacob Smith in the slot. Smith deked before slipping the puck past Roudebush for a 2-0 lead at 11:22 of the second.
Knoxville cut the deficit in half early in the third when the puck bounced to Roy in the slot. His shot bounced off Quinn’s stick, deflected off the crossbar and behind the goal line at 4:23. Jacob Benson tied the game when a shot from the blue line was stopped by Quinn and Benson collected the rebound on the left side of the crease and put it into the net just over a minute later.
Roudebush stopped 16 shots for Knoxville. Quinn made 39 saves for the Bulls.
The Ice Bears hit the road to take on the Macon Mayhem on Sunday. Birmingham will be back in Knoxville on Thursday night.
ABOUT The Knoxville Ice Bears: The Knoxville Ice Bears organization began in 2002 and was an inaugural charter member of the Southern Professional Hockey League (SPHL) in 2004. As four-time SPHL Champions, the Ice Bears are an experienced and established organization, offering the city and its’ visitors a balanced product of highlight-reel hockey, unique and exciting intermission activity, and endless fan interaction, presenting the most affordable, family-friendly way to enjoy sports and entertainment. Season, Partial Season and Flex Tickets are now on sale. For more information, visit www.knoxvilleicebears.com or call (865) 525-7825.
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