The South Carolina Stingrays were defeated by the Florida Everblades 5-1 on Friday night. Mitchell Gibson made 20 saves on 25 shots in the loss, and Nick Leivermann scored the lone goal for the Stingrays.
The Everblades scored the first goal of the evening just 1:48 into the game. Logan Lambdin sent a backhand centering pass from the right-wing corner that went off the skate of Benton Maass and into the net.
Leivermann tied the game with his tenth goal of the season 12:12 into the opening frame. Leivermann beat Florida netminder Cam Johnson with a wrist shot from the top of the right circle.
The Everblades took a 2-1 lead 4:43 into the second period on a goal by Riese Zmolek. Zmolek collected the puck on the left wing side and deeked around Gibson for his fourth goal of the season.
Florida took control with a three-goal third period to make it a 5-1 final. Mark Senden and Joe Pendenza each scored tip-in goals to make it a 4-1 Florida lead.
Florida extended their lead to 5-1 when Senden tallied his second goal of the game with a wrist shot on a 2-on-1 opportunity.
The Stingrays face the Everblades again tomorrow night at the North Charleston Coliseum. Puck drop is set for 6:05 pm.
