The Fayetteville Marksmen (1-1-2) returned to the Crown Coliseum on Thursday night against the Knoxville Ice Bears (2-1-1).
Knoxville right winger Ryan Kuzmich put the Ice Bears up 1-0 at 10:18 in the first period with assists by Tim Kent and Spencer Bellina. The Marksmen had seven shots in the first period.
In the second period, Fayetteville left winger Shane Murphy tied the game 1-1 at 13:39 with assists from Blake Humphrey and Payton Schaly. The Marksmen had nine shots in the second period.
In the third period, Shane Murphy committed a tripping penalty, putting Knoxville on the power play. The Ice Bears capitalized on the man advantage when Ranon Joseph scored for a 2-1 lead at 5:46 with assists from Tim Kent and Ryan Kuzmich. At 12:45, Fayetteville right winger Payton Schaly tied the game 2-2 with assists from Alex Davis and Blake Humphrey.
From there, Knoxville pulled away, with Ryan Kuzmich giving the Ice Bears a 3-2 lead at 14:36, and Frankie Ireland put the game away with an empty-net goal. The Marksmen lost to the Ice Bears 4-2. The Marksmen had eight shots on goal.
Fayetteville finished the night with 24 shots on goal, 0 for 3 on the power play, and goaltender Kyle Curtin made 28 of 31 saves. Ryan Kuzmich was the first star, Shane Murphy was the second star, and Payton Schaly was the third star.
The Marksmen and Ice Bears will play again on Friday at 7:30 pm on FloSports
