The Stingrays picked up a 2-1 victory over the Greenville Swamp Rabbits on Friday night. Kameron Kielly scored the game-winning goal, and Mitchell Gibson made 19 saves in the victory.
The Stingrays outplayed the Swamp Rabbits in the opening period, but Greenville goaltender Ryan Bednard stopped all eleven first-period shots by the Stingrays.
The Swamp Rabbits pushed hard in the second period, and Nikita Pavlychev put them on the board 2:22 into the middle frame. Pavlychev made it 1-0 when he knocked in a rebound for his seventh goal of the season.
It took a while for the Stingrays to find their groove, but Jack Adams potted the equalizer with 1:03 remaining in the second period. Austin Magera crisscrossed with Jon McDonald, who dropped the puck to Adams. Adams fired a wrist shot over the blocker of Bednard to tie the game at 1.
The third period began with frustration for the Stingrays when they failed to capitalize with six minutes of power play time. The Rays gained momentum from a successful penalty kill late in the third period.
With 2:52 remaining in the third period, Kielly scored his second goal of the year and his second game-winning goal in a Stingrays uniform. He redirected a Michael Kim slapshot past Bednard to seal the victory.
The Rays improved to 14-7-2-0 and will be back in action tomorrow night in Jacksonville for a 7:00 pm tilt against the Icemen.
