Knoxville Ice Bears advance to SPHL championship series with upset of 4-seed Birmingham

Ice Bears to face Evansville for President’s Cup championship
President’s Cup finals set between Ice Bears and Thunderbolts
Published: Apr. 19, 2025 at 6:35 PM EDT

BIRMINGHAM, Al. (WVLT) - The Knoxville Ice Bears continued their Cinderella run in the SPHL playoffs with a 4-2 win over the Birmingham Bulls on Saturday to advance to the SPHL President’s Cup championship series.

The Bears are now 0-2 at home in the postseason and a perfect 4-0 in both road games and elimination games.

The 6-seed Knoxville will battle fellow Cinderella, 7-seed Evansville in the President’s Cup championship series.

The championship series is a best-of-three. The championship series schedule is yet to be determined.

Knoxville is seeking its fifth President’s Cup in team history and first since the 2014-15 season. Evansville is appearing in its first championship series and will seek its first league title since being established in 2016.