Pair of Askew Goals Not Enough For SC In Loss To Icemen

The South Carolina Stingrays (20-15-2-0) controlled play and piled up 44 shots on goal Sunday afternoon, but fell 3-2 to the Jacksonville Icemen (20-15-1-0) at the North Charleston Coliseum.

Icemen goaltender Mikhail Berdin was named the first star of the game after turning aside 42 Stingrays attempts at the net. Both shots to get past him were scored by South Carolina forward Cam Askew with assists by defenseman Tim Davison.

The Stingrays outshot Jacksonville 15-6 in the opening period, but neither team was able to get the puck by the opposing goaltender.

Askew got the scoring started in the second with his ninth tally of the season by deflecting a shot by Davison past Berdin on the power play at 7:36. Forward Matt Pohlkamp picked up the second assist on the strike.

Late in the frame, Jacksonville was able to break through for two goals in the final two minutes. First, Justin Woods beat SC goaltender Gordon Defiel with a wrist shot from the left point at 18:30, before Christophe Lalancette knocked home a power play rebound with just 0.2 seconds remaining on the clock. The Icemen had their first lead of the game at 2-1 going to the third period.

Jake Randolph then provided an insurance tally for the Icemen on the team’s first shot on net of the third period at 12:38 to make it 3-1.

Later in the third, while the play was deep in the Jacksonville zone, a puck hit forward Andrew Cherniwchan up high, causing him to fall in front of the crease. Askew quickly found the rebound on the back boards and banked it into the net to cut the Icemen advantage down to 3-2. Cherniwchan was credited with one of the assists on the goal, while Davison had the other, his second helper of the game.

South Carolina continued to put pressure on Jacksonville late in the contest, but came up short, unable to find an equalizer in the final minutes.

Both clubs scored on the man-advantage in the game, with the Stingrays finishing 1-for-4 on the power play and the Icemen ending at 1-for-3. Defiel finished the game with 13 saves in a losing effort.

South Carolina goes up against the Icemen for a rematch on Tuesday night at the North Charleston Coliseum at 7:05 p.m. On Saturday, the Stingrays will Pack The House on Military Appreciation Night against the Orlando Solar Bears. The first 3,500 fans at the game will receive a Stingrays rally towel before the 7:05 p.m. game!  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.