Matt Pierce had one point to lead the Knoxville Ice Bears to a 3-0 victory over the Columbus Cottonmouths.

After the loss made the series score 1-0 in the best of three series, Columbus faces elimination next time out.

Knoxville's penalty kill was spotless, allowing no goals on four Columbus power plays. The Ice Bears relied on a core group of players for most of their offense, as Dan Bremner, Pierce and Jon Higgins took 13 of the team's 25 shots.

Ben Souders also scored for Knoxville. In addition, Knoxville received assists from Peter Neal and Brett Valliquette, who contributed one a piece.

The Cottonmouths were led by Sam Bowles, who took three shots.

Knoxville's Bryan Hince stopped 19 shots out of the 19 that he faced. The Ice Bears incurred 10 minutes in penalty time with five minors. Andrew Loewen made 22 saves for Columbus on 24 shots. The Cottonmouths incurred six minutes in penalty time with three minors.