North Charleston, SC –The South Carolina Stingrays (29-20-1-2) defeated to the Greenville Road Warriors (30-19-1-1) 3-2 in the opening contest of a four-game series Tuesday night at the North Charleston Coliseum.

The Road Warriors grabbed the only goal of the first period when forward Brandon Wong lit the lamp on the power play at 9:01 from defenseman Lee Baldwin and forward Connor Shields.

Stingrays forward Matt Scherer tied the game at 9:55 of the second period firing a shot under the blocker of Road Warriors goaltender Nic Riopel from the bottom of the right-wing circle. Forward Jordan Pietrus and defenseman Dustin Stevenson earned the assists. Moments later, forward Jake Hauswirth made it 2-1 Stingrays at 12:15 from forward Grant McNeill and defenseman Nate Kiser.  

Defenseman Derek Keller gave the Stingrays a two-goal lead with a power play marker at 13:12 of the final frame from forwards Rob Ricci and Pierre-Luc O’Brien. Road Warriors defenseman Wes Cunningham pulled it back within one late in the period lifting a shot over the right shoulder of Stingrays netminder Shane Owen at 18:47 from the bottom of the left-wing circle. Forward Mark Voakes and defenseman Blake Parlett registered assists.

Owen improved to 3-2-0-1 stopping 32 of 34 Road Warriors shots. Riopel suffered his fifth loss against the Stingrays blocking 14 of 17 chances. The Stingrays finished the night 1-for-2 on the power play while the Road Warriors went 1-for-5.

The Battle of the Palmetto State moves to the Bi-Lo Center in Greenville, SC on Friday, February 18 and Saturday, February 19 at 7:05 p.m. and returns to the Coliseum on Sunday, February 20 at 4:00 p.m. Celebrate Kid’s Day with the Stingrays featuring $5 kid’s tickets (walk-up only)! Come early for a pre-game kid’s carnival and stay after the contest for post-game autographs with the entire Stingrays team!