Recap: Ice Bears 5, Ice Flyers 3

PENSACOLA, FLA. – In a hard-fought battle that capped off the Blue Angels Night festivities, the Pensacola Ice Flyers fell short against the Knoxville Ice Bears, losing 5-3 on Saturday night. The defeat evened out the weekend series, following the Ice Flyers’ impressive 6-4 win on Friday night.

The excitement began with a crowd-pleasing fight between Ice Flyers defenseman Jake Hamilton and Cam Tobey. However, the first period quickly took a turn as the Ice Bears scored three unanswered goals, leaving the Ice Flyers searching for answers heading into the first intermission.

The spirited crowd of 6,235 at the Pensacola Bay Center kept hopes alive as the second period began. Ivan Bondarenko netted his first goal of the new season just three minutes in. Although Knoxville answered later to maintain their three-goal lead, Greg Smith managed to cut the Ice Bears’ advantage in half with 4:27 left on the clock, closing out the scoring for the second period.

Despite numerous scoring chances in the third, the hometown team couldn’t complete the comeback. Jake Hamilton found the back of the net with 2:53 left in the game, but the rally fell short when Knoxville’s Lucas Helland scored on an empty net.

“The crowd looked amazing, anytime you can play in this environment, you wanna put your best effort forward,” said Head Coach Gary Graham. “We’re gonna go back to the lab next week. We’ve got 4 days to prepare for a really big Huntsville series.”

Fans can bid on autographed goal pucks and signed Blue Angels jerseys online now at https://web.dashapp.io/team/pensacolaiceflyers

What’s Next?

Next Game: Friday, November 15 at Huntsville

Next Home Game: Saturday, November 16 for the fan-favorite Star Wars Night | Get Tickets