FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. – The Fayetteville Marksmen defeated the Pensacola Ice Flyers 4-3 in overtime and took sole possession of first place in the SPHL standings at the Crown Coliseum Sunday.

The early matinee puck drop didn’t deter the Marksmen from starting on time, and Austen Long (1) scored the first Fayetteville penalty shot goal since 2015 to get the 1-0 lead just 55 seconds into the contest. An unfortunate bounce off a Marksmen stick in the crease gave Pensacola its first goal of the game while on a powerplay at 5:40 to tie the contest, and they would take control soon after. Just over five minutes later, the Ice Flyers sniped the far-side corner from the near wall to jump ahead of the Marksmen and take that lead into the middle frame.

Fayetteville got the only marker in the second period when Mason Emoff (2) followed play to the net and redirected an Alex Gritz (4) pass into the net. Tyler Barrow (3) gave Marksmen a 3-2 lead early in the third period from Dalton Hunter (2) and Gritz (5), but the Ice Flyers once again tied the game and Fayetteville hung on to force overtime after three straight penalty kills.

Ryan Lieth (1) secured the win in overtime after finishing a rush set up by Barrow (2) and Hunter (3) and the Marksmen jumped into sole possession of first place in the SPHL through six games.

Fayetteville heads North to face the Quad City Storm for two games next weekend before returning to the Crown Coliseum on November 15 for Hockey Fights Cancer presented by The Zara Law Firm. Single game tickets to all Marksmen 2024-25 home games are available at marksmenhockey.com.