The Peoria Rivermen tried to dig themselves out of a three-goal hole, but the Knoxville Ice Bears held on for a 4-3 victory.

A goal by Lucas Van Natter put Knoxville up 4-1 in the third period, but Peoria pulled to within one on Tyler Amburgey's tally 11:15 into the third period.

Peter Neal had a great game for the Ice Bears, netting two goals. Neal scored at 5:32 into the first period to make the score 1-0 Knoxville and again while 18:35 into the first to make the score 2-0 Knoxville.

Knoxville was often in penalty trouble, totaling five minors and two majors for 20 minutes in penalty time. The Ice Bears surpassed its season average of 17.0 penalty minutes per game. With 27 shots on target during the contest, Knoxville exceeded the 22.2 shots it averages per game this year.

Knoxville also got a goal from Berkley Scott as well. Other players who recorded assists for Knoxville were Jason Price, who had one, Eric Satim, who had two, and Ryan Salvis, who had three.

The Rivermen excelled on the penalty kill, not giving up a single goal in five chances. Peoria's penalty killing units received substantial work throughout the game as the Rivermen finished with 24 penalty minutes. The defensemen of Peoria were also effective in the Ice Bears' zone, and came away with two goals.

Peoria also got points from Michael Slowikowski, who also grabbed one goal and one assist to lead the team in points. Matt Summers also scored for Peoria. In addition, Peoria received assists from Steve Morra, Garrett Vermeersch, and Jake Trask, who contributed one each.

Braely Torris made 24 saves for Knoxville on 27 shots. Eric Levine made nine saves before being replaced by Kyle Rank, who took the loss and made 14 saves. The Rivermen registered one goal on three power play opportunities.