The Knoxville Ice Bears tried their best to erase a three-goal deficit, but the Louisiana IceGators would not be denied the victory and hung on to win, 4-2.

Louisiana made the score 4-1 on a goal by Shawn McNeil at 19:45 in the second period, and Knoxville got as close as 4-2 when Jeremy Klaver scored 3:36 into the third period.

Matthew Robertson had one goal and two assists to lead the IceGators. Robertson scored 11:27 into the first period to make the score 1-1. Denny Kearney provided the assist.

Louisiana stifled the Ice Bears' power play, and did not give up a single goal while down a man. The IceGators relied on a core group of players for most of their offense, as Jordan Foreman, Robert Short and Robertson took 12 of the team's 21 shots.

Louisiana additionally got points from Kearney, who also grabbed one goal and one assist. In addition, Louisiana received assists from Matt Miller and Kirk Byczynski, who contributed one a piece.

Knoxville's defensemen were a huge part of the offense, scoring two goals and taking 13 shots.

The Ice Bears were helped by Mark Van Vliet, who registered one goal. Van Vliet scored 10:37 into the first period to make the score 1-0 Knoxville. Eric Satim picked up the assist. Other players who recorded assists for Knoxville were Tyler Fernandez, Jon Higgins, and Brett Valliquette, who each chipped in one.

Riley Gill made 24 saves for Louisiana on 26 shots. The IceGators totaled 25 minutes in penalty time with five minors and one major and went 0-for-2 on the power play. Louisiana ran into serious disciplinary problems during the contest, and Andrew Howes was ejected from the game. Kyle Rank rejected 17 shots on goal for Knoxville. The Ice Bears totaled nine minutes in penalty time with two minors and one major and went 0-for-5 on the power play.