Written by Jake Wheeler
NORTH CHARLESTON, SC- The Jacksonville Icemen rallied from a 3-0 deficit to defeat the South Carolina Stingrays 4-3 in overtime at the North Charleston Coliseum Friday night. Ara Nazarian netted the game-winning goal, and his goal also tied him with former Icemen Wacey Rabbit for most goals scored in club history with 44 goals.
The Icemen and Stingrays both got off to solid starts in the first period as each team had some offensive zone pressure early. This frame featured both clubs transition games as there was a lot of neutral zone play with each team looking for any advantage. After 20 minutes of play, the game remained scoreless with the Icemen having the edge in shots on goal 7-6.
The Icemen started the second frame on the powerplay but could not generate much and a few minutes later the Stingrays made them pay as Carter Turnbull buried the rebound from a point shot to take a 1-0 edge.
Halfway through the second period, South Carolina’s Kevin O’Neil scored on a quick snapshot to take a two-goal lead for South Carolina.
The Stingrays added another one in the middle frame as Josh Wilkins scored off of a cross-crease pass to make it a three-goal cushion.
Jacksonville found their legs at the tail end of the period as Luke Lynch found the back of the net on a wrist shot to cut the deficit to two goals. The Icemen trailed by two heading into the second break.
Moments into the third period, the Icemen’s Zach Jordan was able to find the loose puck and cashed in scoring off his own rebound to bring the Icemen within one goal at 3-2.Later in the period, the Icemen then went to the powerplay, and Luke Lynch was able to score his second of the game from the bumper, with a spot-on snapshot.
Jacksonville had another penalty kill late in the period but killed it off as goaltender Olof Lindbom came up with some big saves down the stretch.
The contest needed extra time in overtime to decide the winner and Ara Nazarian completed the comeback, when h drive toward the net and scored five-hole to complete the comeback victory 4-3. Nazarian’s goal tied him with former Icemen forward Wacey Rabbit for most goals scored in club history with 44 goals.
The Icemen now head to Savannah to play the Ghost Pirates on Saturday, November 19th. Game time is set for 7:00 p.m.
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