The Knoxville Ice Bears had a three-goal lead after two periods and cruised the rest of the way en route to a 5-1 win over the Augusta RiverHawks.

Knoxville's Kyle Rank was a brick wall in net, as he came up with 39 saves and let only one puck past him. Rank certainly lowered his goals against average, which was 2.54 entering the contest.

Augusta's power play was ineffective against the Ice Bears' penalty kill, which allowed zero goals while shorthanded.

Knoxville's penalty kill was spotless, allowing no goals on six Augusta power plays. The Ice Bears failed to reach their usual level of shot production, putting 23 pucks on goal after averaging 30.4 shots per game this season. Knoxville was forced to rely heavily on their penalty kill unit throughout the game, as it racked up 28 penalty minutes.

The Ice Bears were helped by Ricky Helmbrecht, who tallied one goal. Helmbrecht scored 15:07 into the first period to make the score 2-0 Knoxville. David Segal assisted on the tally. Others who scored for Knoxville included Kevin Swider, who had two and Dan Bremner and Brett Valliquette, who scored one goal each. In addition, Knoxville received assists from Emery Olauson, who had three and Mark Van Vliet, Eric Slais, and Tyler Fletcher, who contributed one a piece.

The RiverHawks were held below their usual level of production. Augusta averages 3.7 goals per game. The RiverHawks forced Knoxville goalie Rank to work between the pipes, taking 40 shots. Augusta could not stay out of the penalty box, as the team accrued 30 minutes in penalties during the game.

The RiverHawks were led by Ed Snetsinger, who took four shots.

The Ice Bears registered two goals on seven power play opportunities. Peter Skoggard made 18 saves for Augusta on 23 shots.