NORTH CHARLESTON, SC – Zachary Fucale made 35 saves while Justin Florek finished with two points to lift the South Carolina Stingrays to a 5-1 victory over the Jacksonville Icemen at the North Charleston Coliseum Saturday evening.
South Carolina’s Cole Ully took advantage of an Icemen miscue to give the Stingrays the 1-0 edge. Icemen goaltender Kyle Keyser jumped on the puck for a whistle to the right of his crease. However, Keyser’s own defenseman accidentally bumped him, causing the puck to spring loose and slip directly to the stick of Ully who shoved it into the open net for the easy goal.
In the second, the Stingrays extended their lead to 2-0 when Macoy Erkamps delivered a long stretch pass down the ice to Justin Florek who had a few steps lead on the defender. Florek charged in on goal and slipped a backhand shot through the five-hole of Keyser for the tally.
The Stingrays later tacked on two more goals early in the third period to taking a commanding 4-0 lead. The Icemen generated several quality scoring chances throughout the contest, but goaltender Zachary Fucale managed to turn them all aside.
Jacksonville got on the board at 13:37 of the final stanza when Mike Szmatula tipped and redirected a Jason Binkley shot from the point to spoil Fucale’s shutout bid. Szmatula’s first of the season made it a 4-1 game. The Stingrays would later add an empty-net goal to seal the 5-1 win.
Jacksonville returns to action on December 26 when they travel to Estero to take on the Florida Everblades. The Icemen are back at home on Monday, December 28 against the Florida Everblades. To purchase tickets CLICK HERE
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The Icemen are expected to start the season with limited capacity seating. The best way to ensure your seats is with a season ticket membership package. Full & partial season plans are currently available! Contact the Icemen at 904-602-7825, or visit online at www.jacksonvilleicemen.com
The 2020-21 Jacksonville Icemen Season is Presented by Community First Credit Union
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