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

Neither team gained more than a two-goal lead, and Mike Henderson's goal in the third period proved to be the difference maker.

The Ice Bears were sparked by Henderson, who tallied one goal. Henderson scored 6:25 into the third period to make the score 3-2 Knoxville. Berkley Scott picked up the assist.

Knoxville excelled on the penalty kill, not giving up a single goal in four chances. The Ice Bears relied on a core group of players for most of their offense, as Francis Drolet, Scott and Lucas Van Natter took 13 of the team's 25 shots.

Knoxville additionally got points from Scott, who also registered one goal and one assist. Other players who recorded assists for Knoxville were Ryan Hill, Bo Driscoll, Peter Neal, and Eric Satim, who each chipped in one.

Columbus' penalty kill was spotless, allowing no goals on four Knoxville power plays. The Cottonmouths put 39 shots on net during the contest, more than the 27.5 they average per game.

Columbus was helped by Bryce Williamson, who racked up one goal. Williamson scored 2:56 into the second period to make the score 2-1 Knoxville. Neilsson Arcibal provided the assist. Louis Belisle also scored for Columbus. In addition, Columbus received assists from Kyle Thomas and Chris Bailer, who contributed one each.

Knoxville's Bryan Hince stopped 37 shots out of the 39 that he faced. The Ice Bears ended with 23 minutes in penalty time with four minors and one major. For Knoxville, Ryan Salvis was ejected from the game. Shannon Szabados made 22 saves for the Cottonmouths on 25 shots. Columbus incurred 20 minutes in penalty time with five minors.