The Knoxville Ice Bears tried to dig themselves out of a three-goal hole, but the Louisiana IceGators held on for a 3-1 victory.

A goal by Matt Robertson put Louisiana up 3-0 in the third period, but Knoxville pulled to within two on Zack LaRue's tally 18:16 into the third period.

The Ice Bears were stymied by the IceGators' netminder Brad Barone, who stopped 26 shots during the victory. Barone certainly lowered his goals against average, which was 2.43 entering the contest.

Louisiana put up an impenetrable defensive front on the penalty kill, and did not allow Knoxville to score on any of its five power plays. The 40 shots that the IceGators put on net surpassed Louisiana's average of 24.9 shots per game this season.

The IceGators were helped by Luke Sandler, who registered one goal. Sandler scored on the power play 8:42 into the second period to make the score 2-0 Louisiana. Louisiana had gained a power play chance when Rich Ledy was whistled for boarding. Jordan Ciccarello assisted on the tally. Louisiana also got points from Zac Frischmon, who also tallied one goal and one assist to lead the team in points. In addition, Louisiana received assists from Brad Bourke, Jeremy Boyer, and Massimo Lamacchia, who each chipped in one.

By firing 27 shots on goal, the Ice Bears exceeded the 21.8 shots they average per game this year.

Other players who recorded assists for Knoxville were Doug Reid, who had one.

The IceGators incurred 14 minutes in penalty time with seven minors. Knoxville's Brian Billett stopped 37 shots out of the 40 that he faced. The Ice Bears incurred 16 minutes in penalty time with eight minors.