Ice Notes.

Call-up update, making up for lost time on the IR and another Ice Bear Milestone.

Ice Bears alternate captain Mike carter missed the third periods of play in both Knoxville's weekend games. "He went about a period-and-a-half playing real physical - hit everything that moved on Friday night in twin city, and unfortunately got banged up a little more,” Coach Scott Hillman said. “But again, those are the bumps and bruises this time of year - he'll be back on the ice later this week and ready for this week's match-ups."

Ice Bears defenseman Mark Van Vliet is making his mark on call-up with the Cincinnati cyclones of the ECHL. Last Wednesday, Van Vliet scored the insurance goal in Cincinnati's shutout against the Reading Royals. So far, through 5 games with the defending Kelly Cup playoff champs, the Dorchester, Ontario Canadian is a +1 with 2 PIMs. "Just very positive reports - we understand he sustained a mild ankle injury, but he will be back on the ice we believe with them before we see him again at some point before playoffs,” Hillman said.

And Ice Bears forward Derek Pallardy continues to impress in his second week of play, after coming off 30-day injured reserve. Pallardy scored a shorthanded goal along with 2 assists over the weekend. Hillman said Pallardy is "a guy that had a great 4-year career as a defensive forward - he's proving now that he can also put the puck in the net - but he's definitely the premier penalty killer in this whole league, I believe."

Ice Bears captain Kevin Swider added 2 goals and 1 assist in the weekend's pair of games. Swider now has 82 points in leading the SPHL scoring race, he'll have to average 2-and-a-quarter points in each of the 8 remaining games in order to reach 100 points for the 60 game season. Swider's the only player to win the SPHL scoring race in the league's 4 years of existence - he reached the 100 point plateau twice. The first time was the 2004-2005 season, he then accomplished the feat again the following year.

On Friday, forward Chris Rebernik hit a milestone, recording his 15th goal of the season. Through 30 games, Rebernik's averaged nearly a point a game - he has 28 now for the campaign, which saw him serve a 30-day stint on the IR.




Picture courtesy of Jeff Haas of Haas Design Photography and Laura Adkins via Volzeye.com