The Knoxville Ice Bears and the Fayetteville FireAntz were evenly matched throughout their contest, but Knoxville made the most of its opportunities and won, 3-2.

Each team kept the other at bay throughout the game, and Matt Pierce secured the win for the Ice Bears with a goal in the third period.

Knoxville pulled out the victory even though it was hit with 12 penalty minutes.

The Ice Bears were led by Pierce, who registered one goal. Pierce scored 16:25 into the third period to make the score 3-2 Knoxville. Emery Olauson picked up the assist.

Knoxville put up an impenetrable defensive front on the penalty kill, and did not allow Fayetteville to score on any of its six power plays. The 30 shots that the Ice Bears put on net surpassed Knoxville's average of 26.7 shots per game this season.

Mark Van Vliet also scored for Knoxville. In addition, Knoxville received assists from Jeremy Klaver, Eric Satim, Jon Higgins, Zach Tatrn, and Dan Bremner, who each chipped in one.

The FireAntz's offense was clicking better than usual and put 49 shots on goal during the game, better than the 29.0 shots per game they average.

Fayetteville was helped by Anthony Bergin, who finished with one goal. Bergin scored 2:36 into the third period to make the score 2-1 Fayetteville. Ben Contini provided the assist. Fayetteville also got a goal from Kyle McNeil as well. Other players who recorded assists for Fayetteville were Corey Toy and Josh McQuade, who contributed one a piece.

Connor Toomey made 47 saves for the Ice Bears on 49 shots. Knoxville registered one goal on four power play opportunities. The FireAntz's Marco Emond stopped 27 shots out of the 30 that he faced. Fayetteville incurred eight minutes in penalty time with four minors.