KNOXVILLE, Tenn – The Knoxville Ice Bears faced off against the Birmingham Bulls on Friday night during Military Appreciation Night. The first period featured intense back-and-forth action, but neither team managed to break through and score.
Knoxville opened the scoring early in the second period when Mitch Atkins capitalized on a power play. The Bulls quickly responded with a power-play goal of their own to even the game. Late in the period, Derek Osik restored the Ice Bears’ lead with a goal, and Birmingham’s Seth Benson was handed a five-minute major and a game misconduct for fighting. The Ice Bears took advantage of the extended power play, with Dawson McKinney finding the net to give Knoxville a two-goal cushion.
In the third period, Birmingham rallied, netting two power-play goals in under a minute to tie the game. The contest headed to overtime, where Knoxville’s Jimmy Soper secured the victory with a goal just three minutes into the extra frame.
The Knoxville Ice Bears edged out the Birmingham Bulls 4-3 in an electrifying overtime finish.
Check out this photo gallery from Inside The Rink’s Michael King for highlights from the game.
