JACKSONVILLE, FL – The Jacksonville Icemen scored three goals in the third period to defeat the Savannah Ghost Pirates on Friday night for the start of Lizard Kings Weekend. The Icemen extend their points streak to three games (2-0-1).
The Ghost Pirates struck first on a tally by Evan Nause early in the contest, but the Icemen countered quickly with a power play goal from Christiopher Brown who snapped a shot past Vinnie Purpura to even the count at 1-1.
The Ghost Pirates reclaimed the lead with a power goal on their own as Nicholas Zananeh tipped a shot backdoor behind Icemen goaltender Cameron Rowe.
Neither team lit the lamp in the second period, and Savannah would take the 2-1 lead into the final period.
Longtime Icemen Craig Martin even the score at two when he topped and redirected a Taos Jordan shot in front.
The two teams continued to battle for a majority of the third, but with 2:14 remaining, Matteo Costantini found himself all alone in the slot. Patrick Bajkov noticed him and delivered a smooth pass to Costantini who beat Purpura with a shot below the blocker to give the Icemen a 3-2 lead.
Savannah would pull the goaltender for the extra attacker, but the Icemen would seal the contest on an empty-net tally from Bennett MacArthur to give JAX the 4-2 win.
Lizard Kings weekend continues on Saturday night at 7 p.m. against Iowa. Icemen also play at home on Sunday at 3 p.m.
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