JACKSONVILLE, FL – The Jacksonville Icemen earn a point in the standings following a 3-2 overtime loss to the South Carolina Stingrays in front of an record crowd of 14, 076 at Vystar Arena Thursday afternoon.
The Icemen scored first in the contest when a fortuitous bounce skipped from the boards to the low slot directly to Icemen forward Matheson Iacopelli. Iacopelli immediately directed the puck past Stingrays goaltender Gibson.
After a Josh Wilkins goal that evened the score at one, South Carolina claimed the lead on a shot from Connor Moore which is tipped and re-directed in front by Tyson Empey for the go-ahead tally.
The Icemen tied the game with just 17 seconds remaining in the period when Brendan Harris chased the puck behind the net and fed it in front to a wide-open Anthony Petruzzelli who buried over the shoulder of Mitchell Gibson for the tally.
The two teams held each other in check for the third period, and a late Icemen penalty in the closing seconds of regulation would put Jacksonville shorthanded into overtime. On the ensuing power play, Patrick Harper would flex a shot that would clip off a body in front, change direction and clip past Icemen goaltender Joe Murdaca for the power play marker at 1:39 of the extra session.
The Icemen surrender their first power play goal of the season, but remain unbeaten in regulation (3-0-1-0).
The Icemen hit the road for a pair of divisional games at Atlanta ad Greenville this Friday and Saturday respectively.
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