PHOTOS: Birmingham Bulls vs. Knoxville Ice Bears – 01/12/2025

Michael King for Inside The Rink

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – The Knoxville Ice Bears aimed to close out the weekend on a high note as they hosted the Birmingham Bulls on Sunday evening. Despite a valiant effort, the Ice Bears fell just short in a 5-4 overtime heartbreaker.

The opening period was rough for Knoxville, as Birmingham struck early and often. The game began with fast-paced, end-to-end action, but at 11:37, Drake Glover found the net, beating Knoxville’s Stephen Mundinger. Just 21 seconds later, the Bulls capitalized again, doubling their lead. Birmingham wasn’t finished, adding a third goal with less than two minutes remaining in the period. The Ice Bears avoided a shutout period when Dalton Skelly struck with only nine seconds left to make it 3-1 and give Knoxville some life heading into intermission.

The Ice Bears came out firing in the second period, energized by Skelly’s late goal. The frame opened with tight exchanges, but momentum shifted at 10:48 when Dawson McKinney buried one to pull Knoxville within a goal. The floodgates opened for the Ice Bears as Carson Vance and Cam Tobey each added tallies, giving Knoxville a 4-3 lead by the end of the second.

In the final period, Knoxville looked to protect their lead against Birmingham’s potent offense. However, the Bulls wasted no time, tying the game just over a minute into the third. Both teams generated opportunities but couldn’t capitalize, sending the Ice Bears into their second overtime game of the weekend.

The overtime period was a nail-biter, with both sides trading chances. The game came to a dramatic conclusion when a rebound off Birmingham’s Trevor Thurston’s skate found the back of the net. Knoxville argued it was a kicking motion, but the officials upheld the goal, sealing a 5-4 victory for the Bulls.

Check out this photo gallery from Inside The Rink’s Michael King for highlights from the game. 


Discover more from Inside The Rink

Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.

Leave a Reply

PHOTOS: Florida Panthers vs. Edmonton Oilers (Stanley Cup Finals Game 5) – 06/15/2025

EDMONTON, AB. – The Florida Panthers are single win away from becoming back-to-back Stanley Cup Champions after a decisive 5-2 victory in Game 5 over the Edmonton Oilers at Rogers Place, on Saturday. Check out the photo gallery by Inside the Rink photographer Kevin Neufeld for highlights of the game!

Read More

PHOTOS: Abbotsford Canucks vs. Texas Stars – 06/06/2025

CEDAR PARK, Texas. – Friday night, the Texas Stars defeated the visiting Abbotsford Canucks 2-1 in Game Five of the Western Conference Finals. With the win, the Stars staved off elimination and forced a game six in Abbotsford. Justin Hryckowian would score the lone goal to give the Stars an early 1-0 lead in an evenly matched […]

Read More

PHOTOS: Abbotsford Canucks vs. Texas Stars – 06/04/2025

CEDAR PARK, Texas. – Wednesday night, the visiting Abbotsford Canucks defeated the Texas Stars 5-4 in Game 4 of the Western Conference Finals, which required double overtime to decide. With the victory, Abbotsford takes a 3-1 series lead. Early in the first period, Matej Blümel picked up where he left off on Monday night with his third powerplay […]

Read More