DULUTH, GA. - The Stingrays suffered their fifth regulation loss of the season, falling 4-3 to the Atlanta Gladiators on Wednesday night. Justin Nachbaur, Austin Magera, and Alexander Suzdalev scored for the Stingrays, while Seth Eisele finished the game with 23 saves on 27 shots.
The Stingrays took an early lead in the first period as Jamie Engelbert found Nachbaur in front of the net for a tip in past Atlanta goaltender Ethan Haider. Engelbert marked his 19th point of the season. With five minutes remaining in the first period, a shot by Patriks Marcinkevics from the corner put Atlanta on the board. In the final minute of the first, Randy Hernandez tipped in a quick slapshot past Eisele, putting the Gladiators up by one with less than a minute remaining.
South Carolina tied the game early in the second period. Eleven seconds after the opening faceoff, Tyler Weiss sent the puck across the ice to Magera, who buried a one-timer to even the score. The Stingrays also killed off two penalties, and Eisele stopped all six shots he faced in the middle frame.
Blake Murray quickly put the Gladiators back on top with a one-timer 23 seconds into the final period of play. Suzdalev tied up the game at three with a breakaway tally with twelve minutes left in the third period. The Gladiators picked up the game-winning goal in the last twenty seconds of play. Cody Sylvester one-timed a shot past Eisele to secure a 4-3 victory for Atlanta.
The Stingrays head to Estero, Florida, next week to take on division rivals, the Florida Everblades, for a weekend series.
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