NORTH CHARLESTON S.C – The Stingrays dropped a 9-1 decision against the Orlando Solar Bears on Saturday night in front of a crowd of 5,487 at the North Charleston Coliseum. Brayden Low scored four goals for Orlando.
Low put Orlando on the board 1:45 into the game when he finished off a 3-on-2 opportunity. The Solar Bears made it 2-0 when Jereime Biakabutuka wristed a shot through traffic that trickled past South Carolina goaltender Garin Bjorklund.
Alex Frye made it 3-0 11:27 into the first period when he tipped in a shot by Biakabutuka from the point.
Low tipped in another Biakabutuka shot from the point just 17 seconds later to make it 4-0. Bjorklund was pulled from the game after the tally.
Low completed a hat trick on a breakaway goal 15:08 into the first period.
Low would continue his career-high night with a fourth tally on a one-timer almost 12 minutes into the middle frame for the Solar Bears' only power-play tally of the game, furthering the lead to six.
Frye netted his second of the game and sixth of the year at 15:35 of the second, putting Orlando up seven.
Orlando's leading goal scorer, Mitchell Hoelscher, netted an eighth Orlando goal almost three minutes into the final stanza of the contest on a tap-in one-timer, continuing their dominant play into the third period.
The Solar Bears would strike one final time in the third, with Alex Fortin burying a breakaway opportunity on Gibson at 8:42.
South Carolina ended the night on a positive note with a tic-tac-toe passing play from Kevin O'Neil and Jackson Leppard that found the stick of Josh Wilkins, who scored his 13th of the year on the lone Stingrays goal.
The Stingrays play next in Greenville against the Swamp Rabbits at 7:00 pm on Friday night.