JACKSONVILLE, FL – Brendan Warren scored 1:10 into overtime to secure a 4-3 victory for the Jacksonville Icemen over the South Carolina Stingrays Saturday night at Veterans Memorial Arena. With the win, the Icemen have now won three straight.
Jacksonville and South Carolina had an entertaining first 20 minutes of play. Icemen goaltender Kyle Keyser had multiple big saves to keep the Stingrays scoreless. The Icemen’s power play stayed red hot as Pascal Aquin deflected a point shot past Stingrays goaltender Jake Kupsky. At the end of the first frame the Icemen lead 1-0.
In the second, Keyser remained stellar in goal and made several key stops. This allowed the Icemen to build their lead. Aquin scored his second goal of the game off of a Stingrays turnover to make it a 2-0 lead in the game.
Later in the period, forward Craig Martin scored for the Icemen off of a broken play in front of the net to give the Icemen leading 3-0 at the second break.
The physicality picked up in the third period off of a thunderous open ice check from Icemen defenseman Michael Kim. Following that check both teams gained some energy and momentum that carried them throughout the rest of the game.
Dylan Steman scored for the Stingrays off of another broken play, which resulted in the puck taking a crazy bounce off the end boards. Stemen collected the puck off the boards and hurled a shot that beat Keyser to make it a 3-1 game.
Moments later, South Carolina defenseman Zach Malatesta stole the show and scored two back-to-back goals less than three minutes apart to tie the game at three. Malatesta’s efforts eventually forced overtime for the second consecutive night.
After numerous chances for both teams, Icemen forward Brendan Warren scored off the rebound from a Pascal Aquin shot. Aquin hammered a shot from the wing that was stopped by Kupsky. However, the rebound jumped to the slot and Warren snapped a shot into the net to seal the 4-3 win. With an assist on the play, Aquin finished the night with four points (2g, 2a).
The Icemen head to Orlando on Friday February 26 to take on the Solar Bears. The Icemen will then play back-to-back games at home against the Solar Bears on February 27 and 28. To purchase tickets CLICK HERE
-Written by Jake Wheeler
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