Nick Bligh scored on the breakaway with seven seconds remaining in overtime to give the Atlanta Gladiators (9-19-5-1) a 3-2 win over the South Carolina Stingrays (20-14-2-0) on Friday night at the North Charleston Coliseum.
Matt Pohlkamp and Tim Harrison scored goals for the Rays, who picked up one point in the standings to stay in second place in the South Division. Goaltender Angus Redmond made his first start at home in between the pipes and made 36 saves.
Neither team was able to score in the opening frame, but South Carolina got things started at 3:19 of the second when Pohlkamp had a shot by Christian Horn go off his skate and redirect past Atlanta goaltender Sean Bonar into the net during a power play. The Rays 1-0 advantage also came with a second assist by defenseman Tim Davison.
Atlanta bounced back later in the period with back-to-back goals by Derek Nesbitt at 10:54 and Justin MacDonald at 15:13 to take a commanding 2-1 advantage at the end of the second frame.
In the third, South Carolina came alive and outshot the Gladiators 13-5. Harrison got the equalizer the Rays needed to make it 2-2 at 11:38 of the final period when he knocked home a loose puck in front for his fourth tally of the year. The tying goal came with assists by forward Josh Gratton as well as defenseman Kevin McKernan.
But after the game headed to overtime, Atlanta was able to secure their first win over South Carolina this season in the final seconds of the extra period when Bligh beat Redmond on a breakaway at 4:53.
The Stingrays finished 1-for-4 on the man-advantage and took just one penalty in the contest, holding Atlanta to 0-for-1 on the power play. Bonar stopped 27 shots for the Gladiators to earn the victory. Atlanta outshot South Carolina 39-29 in the game.
South Carolina stays at home to host the Jacksonville Icemen for Kids Takeover at the North Charleston Coliseum on Sunday afternoon at 3:05 p.m. Tickets are on sale now!
To bring your group to the game and save, call the Stingrays Front Office at 843-744-2248! For single game tickets, visit ticketmaster.com.
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