The South Carolina Stingrays fell 5-3 to the Jacksonville Icemen at the VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena on Saturday night. Kyle Kupka, Jayden Lee, and Jamie Engelbert scored for the Stingrays, while Mitchell Gibson made 20 saves in the loss.
The Stingrays showed aggression early, outshooting the Icemen 13-7 in the opening frame.
Ivan Chukarov got the scoring started for Jacksonville 10:02 into the first period. Chukarov took a feed from Logan Cockerill and beat Gibson alone right in front of the goal to give the Icemen a 1-0 lead.
The Icemen doubled their lead less than five minutes into the second. After a save from Gibson on a shot from the right circle by Brody Crane, the puck deflected in off the leg of Liam Coughlin.
The Stingrays cut into the deficit midway through the second. After an initial one-timer from Kupka, chaos in front of the net ensued, and Kupka poked the puck home to break the shutout. Tyler Weiss and Lee assisted on Kupka’s fourth goal of the year.
The Icemen regained their two-goal lead with less than two minutes left in the second. Jacksonville captain Christopher Brown wheeled into the slot and beat Gibson glove side to give the Icemen a 3-1 lead.
Late in the third period, with the goalie pulled and a 6-on-5 advantage, Lee buried his second goal in two games with a shot through traffic from the top of the point.
Chukarov put up his second goal of the game with an empty net goal with a minute and a half to go.
The Stingrays once again cut the deficit to one with another 6-on-5 goal. Engelbert recorded his first professional goal with sixteen seconds remaining in the game with a wrist shot from the slot.
Brendan Harris iced the game for Jacksonville with a second empty-net goal with five seconds to go.
The Stingrays will start their first four-game week on Wednesday against the Worcester Railers on the road at 10:30 am.
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