GREENVILLE, SC – The South Carolina Stingrays (34-20-4-1) fell to the Greenville Swamp Rabbits (33-19-7-1) by a final score of 4-1 on Friday night at the Bon Secours Wellness Arena.
The Swamp Rabbits jumped out to a 1-0 lead midway through the opening stanza on Ethan Cap's first tally of the season. Tanner Eberle crashed the net and lost the puck to where Cap stood alone for the backdoor sweep.
Max Martin doubled the Greenville advantage under four minutes later as he netted his 11th goal of the season during a power play. Martin wristed a shot from inside the blue line that beat a screened Clay Stevenson for the 2-0 lead.
Greenville added another marker on Brannon McManus' 10th tuck of the year. McManus collected the puck behind the net and skated out in front before lifting a tight-angle shot past the glove of Stevenson for the 3-0 advantage at the 3:33 mark of the second period.
Andrew Cherniwchan got the Stingrays on the board on their only tally of the night with 3:04 left in the middle frame. Cherniwchan raced into the offensive zone shorthanded and lifted a puck that deflected off David Hrenak and past the end line to close out the period.
Alex Ierullo tucked in one final goal for the Swamp Rabbits with his 24th goal of the year. Ierullo collected a rebound from Stevenson and slid it into the empty net for the 4-1 final.
The Stingrays return to the North Charleston Coliseum tomorrow evening for a battle against the Savannah Ghost Pirates beginning at 6:05 pm.
