The Knoxville Ice Bears almost clawed their way back from a three-goal deficit, but the Fayetteville FireAntz managed to pull out a 3-2 win in the end.

Fayetteville led by three goals at one point and ended with the victory. The largest advantage in the game came when the FireAntz's Randy Cameron scored at 6:12 in the second period to put Fayetteville up 3-0.

The FireAntz managed to stay out of the box better than usual, totaling one minor for two minutes in penalty time. Fayetteville wound up below its season average of 20.0 penalty minutes per game. With 35 shots on target during the contest, the FireAntz exceeded the 20.5 shots they average per game this year.

Fayetteville was helped by Matt Robertson, who grabbed one goal. Robertson scored on the power play 14:13 into the first period to make the score 1-0 Fayetteville. The FireAntz had gotten the advantage when Knoxville's Jarrett Rush was sent off for slashing. Austin Daae picked up the assist. Fayetteville also got a goal from Tim Recio as well. More assists for Fayetteville came via Mike Kavanagh, who had two and Trever Hertz, Kristaps Nimanis, and Chad Hohmann, who contributed one each.

The Ice Bears kept Fayetteville's goalie busy throughout the game, and Andrew Flemming made 32 saves on 34 shots.

Knoxville was helped by Matthew Paton, who tallied one goal. Paton scored 6:33 into the second period to make the score 3-1 Fayetteville. Brett Valliquette assisted on the tally. Eric Satim also scored for Knoxville. Other players who recorded assists for Knoxville were Robbie Donahoe, Ben Schoeneberger, and Ryan Salvis, who each chipped in one.

The FireAntz registered one goal on two power play opportunities. The Ice Bears' starting goalie, Curtis Martinu, made 26 saves and finished with the loss before he was taken out in favor of Bryan Hince, who stopped six shots. Knoxville incurred four minutes in penalty time with two minors.