The Columbus Cottonmouths 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 Adam Sedlak put Knoxville up 4-1 in the second period, but Columbus pulled to within one on Andy Bathgate's tally 19:05 into the third period.

The Ice Bears' penalty kill was spotless, allowing no goals on four Columbus power plays. Knoxville put 28 shots on net during the contest, more than the 22.1 it averages per game.

The Ice Bears were helped by John Clewlow, who had one goal and one assist. Clewlow scored 2:42 into the second period to make the score 2-1 Knoxville. Garrett Vermeersch provided the assist. Knoxville additionally got points from Vermeersch, who also registered one goal and one assist and Mark Pustin, who also finished with one goal and one assist. In addition, Knoxville received assists from Doug Reid, who had two and Tyler Beasley, Zack LaRue, and Corey Fulton, who each chipped in one.

With 29 shots on target during the contest, the Cottonmouths exceeded the 20.8 shots they average per game this year. Columbus' offense was helped by the efforts of its defensemen, who managed to put 12 shots on net during the game.

The Cottonmouths were helped by Kyle Shapiro, who tallied one goal. Shapiro scored 4:52 into the first period to make the score 1-0 Columbus. Chris Rial assisted on the tally. Levi Lind also scored for Columbus. More assists for Columbus came via Alex Pompeo, Patrick McCadden, and Chad Bennett, who contributed one each.

Brian Billett recorded 26 saves for Knoxville. The Ice Bears totaled 13 minutes in penalty time with four minors and one major and went 0-for-1 on the power play. Brandon Jaeger made 24 saves for Columbus on 28 shots. The Cottonmouths ended with seven minutes in penalty time with one minor and one major.