In their first meeting since the 2025 Kelly Cup Playoffs, the South Carolina Stingrays scored three unanswered goals and got a dagger late from Simon Pinard to beat the Orlando Solar Bears, 4-2, on Wednesday night at the North Charleston Coliseum.
After a scoreless first 20 minutes, Orlando (1-4-0-0) struck first early in the 2nd period. Spencer Kersten finished a 2-on-1 opportunity 4:03 into the frame to put the visitors ahead, 1-0. Just over four minutes later, South Carolina (4-1-0-0) responded.
Romain Rodzinski fired a pass from the defensive zone to the attacking blue line where Simon Pinard found Josh Wilkins cutting behind the defense who put home his fourth goal of the season on a breakaway tying the game, 1-1.
Five minutes later, the Stingrays went to the power play. After a faceoff win, Jalen Luypen wired home his first goal as a Stingray, putting South Carolina ahead, 2-1.
The Stingrays took that lead to the 3rd, where on a 4-on-3 power play, Kyler Kupka punched home a rebound building the Stingrays lead to two, 3-1, with 8:23 left in regulation. The Stingrays needed Kupka’s goal as Orlando cut into the deficit with 3:06 left in the 3rd making it a one-goal game.
Leading by one with less than a minute remaining, South Carolina forced a turnover in the neutral zone letting Pinard skate in on a breakaway, slotting home the dagger with 47 seconds remaining, pushing South Carolina to a 4-2 victory.
In the win, Pinard, Luypen and Wilkins all recorded multi-point nights. Stingrays netminder, Antoine Keller, saved 19 of 21 shots, including 10 in the 3rd period, to pick up his second win of the season.
South Carolina returns to action on Saturday, November 1, against the Greenville Swamp Rabbits. Puck drop is slated for 7:05 p.m. from the Bon Secours Wellness Arena in Greenville, South Carolina.