JACKSONVILLE, FL – The South Carolina Stingrays scored four goals in the third period in an effort to rally from a 4-0 deficit, but the Icemen held on to prevail by a 7-6 count in front of 10,633 fans at Vystar Veterans Memorial Arena Friday night. The Icemen have now scored seven goals in back-to-back games, following a 7-2 win at Atlanta on December 21.
The Icemen raced out of the gates in the opening frame, lighting the lamp three times as Brendan Harris, Davis Koch and Brody Crane all lit the lamp in the first period as the Icemen went into the first break leading 3-0.
In the second period, Harrs netted his second of the night when he drove to the net and swung around the outstretched and out-of-postioned goaltender and then lifted a shot high into the net for the tally to give the Icemen a 4-0 lead.
Moment later, South Carolina got on the board on Ryan Hofer’s rebound chance to make it a 4-1 contest. However, the Icemen recorded a goal off the rebound when Chase Lang shoved in the second chance scoring opportunity to give Jacksonville a four-goal lead again.
In the closing minutes of the second, Erik Middendorf gave his team a spark before the close of the period, scoring his 10th tally of the season.
Middendorf’s tally ignited an offensive burst for the Stingrays in the third period, as the refused to go away. Andrew Perrott scored three minutes into the period to make it a two-goal game at 5-3.
However, Jacksonville rookie blue liner Brayden Hislop wristed a shot from the high slot that cleanly hit the back of the net to give the Icemen a three-goal edge at 6-3. The goal was Hislop’s first as a pro.
Nearly 45 seconds later, Justin Nachbaur scored off a rebound to make it a 6-4 game, and just over a minute after that, Perrott would take the faceoff win and drive uncontested to the net to slip a shot past Icemen goaltender Matt Vernon to pull the Stingrays with one at 6-5.
In the final minute, South Carolina pulled the goaltender to allow for the extra attacker, but the Icemen’s Zack Jordan hurled a shot from the right wing into the empty-net to give the Icemen some breathing room with a 7-5 lead. The Icemen’s comfort level diminished just 26 seconds later when Tyler Weiss scored a goal off the rebound to pull the stubborn Stingrays within one with 28 seconds remaining.
The Icemen were able to hold off the South Carolina push back and preserve the 7-6 victory. The Icemen now pull within one point of the second place Stingrays in the standings. Jacksonville now hits the road for a pair of games at Greenville on Saturday and Sunday.
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