The Fayetteville FireAntz were firing on all cylinders against the Knoxville Ice Bears, and when the final buzzer sounded FireAntz emerged with a 5-2 win.

In the losing effort, Knoxville was sparked by Bret Peppler, who racked up two goals. Peppler scored the first of his two goals at 48 seconds into the first period to make the score 1-0 Knoxville. Josh Cousineau assisted on the tally. Peppler's next tally made the score 4-2 Fayetteville with 8:19 left in the third period. The Ice Bears were on a disadvantage when Doug Reid went off the ice for hooking. Luc Kilgore provided the assist.

Fayetteville was paced by Steven Hoshaw, who grabbed one goal. Hoshaw scored 12:00 into the second period to make the score 3-1 Fayetteville. Derek Elliott assisted on the tally.

The FireAntz forced Knoxville goalie Bryan Hince to work between the pipes, taking 38 shots. Fayetteville got an offensive boost from its blueliners, who contributed two goals during the game.

Fayetteville additionally got points from Joseph Manno, who also tallied one goal and one assist to lead the team in points. Fayetteville also had goals scored by Kyle Gibbons, Tayler Thompson, and Zach Carriveau, who scored one goal each. Other players who recorded assists for Fayetteville were Nick Lazorko, who had two and Nicholas Rivait, Berkley Scott, Austin Daae, Josh McQuade, Brad Plumton, and Zac Frischmon, who each chipped in one.

The FireAntz were unable to stop the Ice Bears from sending pucks towards the net, and Knoxville eventually piled up 40 shots on goal.

More assists for Knoxville came via Trever Hertz, who had one.

Sean Bonar recorded 38 saves for Fayetteville. The FireAntz totaled 11 minutes in penalty time with three minors and one major and went 1-for-3 on the power play. Hince rejected 33 shots on goal for the Ice Bears. Knoxville totaled 15 minutes in penalty time with five minors and one major and went 0-for-1 on the power play.