SAVANNAH, G.A. – Behind three first-period goals and a 41-save shutout from Seth Eisele, the South Carolina Stingrays won their sixth consecutive road game, 4-0, on Sunday afternoon at Enmarket Arena.
South Carolina (23-13-1-0) struck early in the 1st period and did not look back. Just over seven-and-a-half minutes into the opening frame, Jalen Luypen slid a centering feed to Simon Pinard who blasted home the opening goal giving the Stingrays a 1-0 lead. Less than seven minutes later, Stan Cooley punched home his second goal in as many nights to double the Stingrays' advantage, 2-0. In the late stages of the period, South Carolina went to the power play and made Savannah (18-14-2-1) pay. Patrick Guzzo deflected a shot from the point past Ghost Pirates netminder Vinnie Purpura, putting South Carolina ahead 3-0.
After South Carolina’s three-goal 1st period, the Ghost Pirates searched for a response, but Stingrays netminder Seth Eisele was up to the task. After facing just four shots in the opening 20 minutes, Eisele turned aside all 18 shots he faced in the second period, including three Savannah power-play chances, to keep the 3-0 lead intact heading into the third.
Despite the Ghost Pirates generating the majority of the chances in the second period, South Carolina added to its lead early in the third. Skating behind the net, Dean Loukus sent a no-look backhand pass to Kaden Bohlsen, who fired home his 12th goal of the season to give the Stingrays a 4-0 lead with 17:58 left in the frame. Following the goal, South Carolina recorded just three more shots the rest of the game, while Savannah continued to test Eisele. The Lake Elmo, Minnesota native faced 19 shots in the third period and stopped all 19 to earn his second shutout of the season as the Stingrays defeated the Ghost Pirates, 4-0.
Eisele stopped 41 shots in the shutout for the fifth of his professional career. It is the third time South Carolina has shut out a team this season. The 19 saves that Eisele made in the 3rd period are the most saves by a Stingrays netminder in a single period this season. South Carolina has now won six straight road games.