JACKSONVILLE, FL –Garin Bjkorkland stopped 21 of 22 shots as the South Carolina Stingray defeated the Jacksonville Icemen 5-1 in front of a sold out opening night crowd of 12,370 at Vystar Arena Friday night.
The Icemen wasted little time bringing the home crowd to its feet, scoring just 1:04 into the contest. Jacksonville entered the South Carolina end on an odd-man rush, and Colby Ambrosio guided a shot high into the net past Stingrays netminder Bjkorland to give the Icemen the early 1-0 lead.
Thanks to stellar goaltending from Icemen goalie Chase Wutzke, the 1-0 sored held until about five minutes remaining in the second period. Jeremie Biakabutuka snapped a shot from up high that beat a screened Wutzke for the tying tally.
The Stingrays quickly capitalized on the found momentum, and grabbed the lead with 16-seconds remaining in the period on a goal by Ryan Sandelin.
Just under five minutes into the third period, Veteran forward Josh Wilkins grabbed his first goal of the season to give the Stingrays a 3-1 edge. From there the Stingrays locked down defensively and outshot the Icemen 12-4 for the remainder of the period, while outshooting Jacksonville 44-22 for the contest.
Cam Morrison and former Icemen forward Tyler Kopff each tacked on a goal in the third period, to put the game at its final of 5-1.
The Icemen are back in action on Saturday in Savannah as they take on the Ghost Pirates at 7:00 p.m.
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