Steman’s Shorthanded Strike Not Enough for Rays in 3-1 Loss
By: Stingrays Media
ORLANDO, Fla. – The Orlando Solar Bears (33-25-5-1) scored twice in the first period and goaltender Clint Windsor made 43 saves to keep his team in front the rest of the way in a 3-1 defeat of the South Carolina Stingrays (28-24-10-3) on Sunday afternoon at the Amway Center.
Forward Dylan Steman had the lone goal for the Rays while his team was shorthanded in the third period and goaltender Jake Kupsky turned aside 36 Orlando shots in a losing effort.
Tristin Langan got the Solar Bears on the scoreboard just 46 seconds into the first, pushing a loose puck past Kupsky to make it 1-0.
Before the end of the opening frame, Michael Joly extended the advantage to 2-0 for the Solar Bears at 16:19.
Despite putting 19 shots on goal in the middle frame, the Stingrays were unable to beat Windsor and continued to trail 2-0 at the end of 40 minutes.
SC started the third down a man with Zach Malatesta in the penalty box due to a holding infraction. During the penalty kill, Steman stole the puck at the top of his own zone and raced down the ice on a breakaway. His quick release went off Windsor’s stick and past the goal line, cutting the Solar Bears’ lead down to 2-1.
The Stingrays continued to put pressure on Orlando throughout the third and held a 13-5 advantage in shots-on-goal during the final frame but got nothing else to show for it on the scoreboard.
In the final seconds of action, Tyler Bird sealed the win for the Solar Bears with an empty-net goal at 19:52.
SC finished with a 44-39 edge in shots-on-goal for the game but was unable to capitalize on any of their man-advantage opportunities, going 0-for-5 while holding the Solar Bears to an 0-for-2 mark on the power play.
The Stingrays return to action with three home contests at the North Charleston Coliseum next week beginning on Wednesday night with their final matchup of the season against the Greenville Swamp Rabbits at 7:05 p.m. and continuing with a weekend set against the Wheeling Nailers on Friday at 7:05 and Saturday at 6:05.
