KNOXVILLE, Tenn. -The Knoxville Ice Bears’ playoff run hit a bump Wednesday night with a 4-2 loss to the Birmingham Bulls in Game 1 of the SPHL second round at the Knoxville Civic Coliseum.
After back-to-back road wins in the first round, Knoxville came out looking to keep that momentum going on home ice. Both teams started strong, trading possession and chances in a fast-paced first period.
Birmingham struck first when Kolten Olynek slipped a shot past Ice Bears goalie Stephen Mundinger at the 12:41 mark. The Bulls added another late in the period, as Andrew Bellant found the net with just 37 seconds left to give Birmingham a 2-0 lead at the first intermission.
The Bulls kept the pressure on in the second period. Filimon Ledziankou made it 3-0 midway through the frame. Knoxville created plenty of chances, firing 27 shots over the first two periods, but Birmingham goalie Austin Lotz turned them all away.
The Ice Bears finally broke through early in the third when Tyler Williams scored just 52 seconds in. Knoxville continued to push, but Lotz stood his ground and denied multiple scoring opportunities.
With under five minutes left in the game, Jimmy Soper gave the Ice Bears some hope with a goal that cut the deficit to one. But any chance of a comeback was dashed when Bellant scored his second of the night on an empty net in the final minutes.
Knoxville will look to bounce back as the series shifts to Birmingham for Game 2.
Check out this photo gallery from Inside The Rink’s Michael King for highlights from the game.
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