DULUTH, GA – The South Carolina Stingrays (8-4-1-0) could not overcome a three-goal deficit as they fell to the Atlanta Gladiators (8-4-1-0) by a score of 3-1 on Friday night at Gas South Arena. Friday’s matchup was the first of back-to-back contests on the weekend.
Neither team was able to gain an advantage in the first period despite South Carolina outshooting Atlanta 19-12. The Stingrays’ Tyler Wall and the Gladiators’ Tyler Parks stayed perfect until late in the second period when Atlanta broke through on the power play.
With just over four minutes remaining in the middle frame, the Stingrays took a penalty that led to Cody Sylvester’s sixth goal of the season. While on the man advantage, Sylvester received a puck at the right circle, squared up with Wall, and deflected a shot off the catcher and into the back of the net for the 1-0 lead.
The Gladiators tacked on at the 7:42 mark of the third period as Liam Kirk netted his first career ECHL goal. Wall made a flurry of saves before Kirk sent a rebound past the Stingrays' netminder for the 2-0 lead.
Kirk added his second of the contest six minutes later for the three-goal advantage. Brandon Schultz fed Kirk in the slot where the forward lifted a shot over the glove of Wall to take a 3-0 lead.
The Stingrays wouldn’t go down without a fight as Andrew Cherniwchan netted his first goal of the season with just over a minute remaining in regulation. Jonny Evans fired a shot on net where Cherniwchan cleaned up the rebound to get South Carolina on the board.
Wall stopped 37 of 40 shots he saw in net for South Carolina while Parks turned back 44 of 45 shots for Atlanta.
The Stingrays return to action tomorrow, November 26th, to complete back-to-back games against the Atlanta Gladiators beginning at 7:00 p.m.
Season ticket plans are on sale now! For more information or to purchase, contact the Stingrays by phone at 843-744-2248 or submit this form.
Save money with group tickets! For more information or to purchase, contact the Stingrays by phone at 843-744-2248.
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