Late Icemen Rally Falls Short in 2-1 Loss to Stingrays

JACKSONVILLE, FL – Hunter Shepard made 31 saves to help guide the South Carolina Stingrays to a 2-1 victory over the Jacksonville Icemen Friday night at Veterans Memorial Arena.   

South Carolina's Caleb Herbert struck first in the contest to give the Stingrays a 1-0 lead in the first period.  Herbert gathered the puck in the slot and pivoted with a shot toward the net that slipped past Icemen netminder Eamon McAdam for the game’s first tally.   

The 1-0 count remained until early in the third period when Max Gottlieb extended the Stingrays lead to 2-0.  Following a save by McAdam, the rebound jumped to the slot.  Gottlieb gloved the puck down to his stick and then tapped a shot that clipped off and over the shoulder of McAdam to put the Stingrays in front by two.   

The Icemen generated a few more quality scoring chances in the third, but Stingrays netminder Hunter Shepard managed to turn them all aside.   Shepard was almost perfect on the night, but the Icemen finally got on the board with 59 seconds remaining in regulation.   

With the extra attacker on the ice, Jacksonville pressured the Stingrays with several quality shots before finding the back of the net.  Abbott Girduckis hammered a slapshot from the right circle that was initially stopped by Shepard, but the rebound slid to the stick of Derek Lodermeier on the right side of the crease.  Lodermeier collected the puck and shoved it into the net to pull the Icemen with one.  Lodermeier’s first professional goal put the score at 2-1.   

Despite the late comeback bid, the Stingrays still prevailed, locking down the final seconds of the contest to preserve the one-goal victory.   

The two teams meet again tomorrow in North Charleston.  Game time is set for 6:05 p.m.  The Icemen are back at home on Monday, December 28 against the Florida Everblades.   To purchase tickets CLICK HERE 

--- 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   

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