ESTERO, FL – The South Carolina Stingrays evened the series at two wins apiece behind a 4-2 defeat of the Florida Everblades on Friday night at Hertz Arena. Clay Stevenson turned back 34 shots to earn the victory in net.
Florida broke through at the 2:20 mark of the first period as Oliver Chau netted his first postseason goal in his postseason debut. Chau’s goal gave the Everblades a 1-0 lead for the third time in the series.
The Stingrays responded 1:02 later on Jarid Lukosevicius’ third goal in the past two games. Lukosevicius split the Florida defense and collected a puck before firing a shot past the blocker of Cam Johnson for the tie game.
Josh Wilkins gave South Carolina a one-goal lead 38 seconds later as he tallied his first goal of the postseason on the man advantage off a rebound from Bear Hughes. Wilkins led the Stingrays during the regular season with 12 power play goals, the most in 14 seasons.
Following a scoreless second period, Florida tied the game early in the third frame as Sean Josling tipped a shot over the shoulder of Stevenson for the 2-2 contest.
Lukosevicius regained the Stingrays’ lead on his second goal of the contest with 9:21 left in regulation. Hughes won a faceoff to Lukosevicius who fired a shot over the right shoulder of Johnson for the 3-2 lead.
With time winding down, Anthony Del Gaizo iced the game on his first goal of the postseason. Hughes picked up the helper as he recorded a three-assist night.
The Stingrays gear up for Game 5 of the 2023 Kelly Cup Playoffs against the Florida Everblades tomorrow night at Hertz Arena. Puck drop is set for 7:00 p.m.
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