JACKSONVILLE, F.L. – Jalen Luypen scored twice, Kaden Bohlsen netted his third goal in the last two games, and the South Carolina Stingrays never trailed, downing the Jacksonville Icemen, 4-1. at the VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena on Saturday night.
South Carolina (6-3-0-0) struck first early in the 1st period. The Stingrays worked a perfect 3-on-2 opportunity as Jalen Luypen tapped home a centering pass from Lynden Breen, pushing the Stingrays in front just 5:13 into the game. The Stingrays held that lead throughout the 1st period, and went to the power play with 4:02 remaining.
Late on the power play, Breen again delivered a pass to the back post where Kaden Bohlsen punched home his fourth goal of the season, doubling South Carolina’s advantage, 2-0. South Carolina took that lead into the 2nd period after netminder Mitch Gibson stopped all eight shots he saw in the first 20 minutes.
In the 2nd period, Jacksonville (5-5-0-0) cut into the Stingrays lead. Christopher Brown scored on the power play with 15:14 left in the period, but that was the only chance the Icemen converted all night.
Gibson shut the door after the lone goal. He stopped the final 15 shots from the Icemen on the night, including seven in the 3rd period. Trailing by one, Jacksonville pulled their netminder, Cameron Rowe, with just over two minutes remaining in regulation and the Stingrays added two empty-net goals from Luypen and Kyler Kupka to finish off the 4-1 victory over the Icemen.
In the win, Luypen and Breen both finished with multi-point nights. Bohlsen now has three goals in his last two games and Kupka has points in seven of his last eight games.
South Carolina finishes the four-game road trip with a split and returns home on Sunday afternoon to host the Orlando Solar Bears on Rays Cancer Awareness Day, presented by MUSC Health. Puck drop is slated for 3:05 p.m. at the North Charleston Coliseum.