JACKSONVILLE, F.L. – Trailing by a goal after the first 20 minutes, the South Carolina Stingrays scored four unanswered goals over the final two periods to defeat the Jacksonville Icemen, 4-1, on Saturday night at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena.
In the first period, Jacksonville (17-20-2-0) struck first midway through the frame. Matteo Costantini opened the scoring at the 11:28 mark to give the Icemen a 1-0 lead. South Carolina (27-14-1-0) goaltender Ty Taylor turned aside every other Jacksonville chance, keeping the deficit at one heading into the second period.
Just over five minutes into the middle frame, the Stingrays went to the power play and made it count. Kaden Bohlsen tied the game at one at the 6:40 mark, registering South Carolina’s second power-play goal of the weekend. Nearly ten minutes later, Stan Cooley buried a backhand rebound to give the Stingrays their first lead of the night, 2-1, with 3:21 remaining in the frame.
Taylor remained sharp in net as the Stingrays carried their lead into the third period. Early in the frame, South Carolina killed off a penalty and withstood a flurry of Jacksonville chances. With Taylor holding the Stingrays in front late, the Icemen pulled their goaltender, and Josh Wilkins sealed the win with an empty-net goal with 1:45 remaining. Patrick Thomas added another empty-net tally with under a minute remaining to cap a 4-1 victory for the Stingrays.
After allowing Costantini’s first-period goal, Taylor stopped the next 17 shots he faced to earn his fourth win of the season. South Carolina had goals from four different skaters, while nine different Stingrays recorded at least one point in the victory.
The Stingrays continue their three-game road trip Sunday afternoon when they face the Orlando Solar Bears. Puck drop is set for 3 p.m. at the Kia Center in Orlando, Florida.