JACKSONVILLE, F.L. - The Stingrays scored four goals in the third period but came up short in a 7-6 loss to the Jacksonville Icemen on Friday night at the Vystar Veterans Memorial Arena. Ryan Hofer, Erik Middendorf, Andrew Perrot (2), Justin Nachbaur, and Tyler Weiss scored for the Stingrays, while Seth Eisele made 23 saves in the loss.
Jacksonville took an early lead with Brenden Harris burying his eighth goal of the year off a two-on-one. The Stingrays held Jacksonville to their one-goal lead despite the Icemen having a 5-3 opportunity mid-period. Jacksonville doubled 13:16 into the opening frame when Logan Cockerill found a waiting Davis Koch in the high slot, and Koch tallied his seventh goal of the season. Jacksonville quickly added another notch on a redirect from Brody Crane 40 seconds later, putting them ahead by three heading into the second.
Five minutes into the second period, Harris lifted over the blocker of Eisele to extend the Jacksonville lead to 4-0. Halfway through the second, Jordan Klimek fired a shot from the point and Hofer knocked in the loose puck to put the Rays on the board. Malik Johnson recorded an assist on the play, marking his first point in his first contest with the Rays. Jacksonville regained their four-goal lead six minutes later when Chase Lang buried his third goal of the season. Erik Middendorf delivered a strike late in the second period to pull the Stingrays within three.
Perrott found the back of the net with a power play tally 3:10 into the third. Jacksonville’s Brayden Hislop restored the three-goal Icemen lead just over a minute later before Nachbaur cut the deficit back to two with another power play strike 41 seconds later. Perrott cut the Jacksonville lead down to one with his second goal of the night 5:29 into the third.
The Stingrays pulled Eisele for an extra attacker with two minutes left in the game but failed to get the equalizer. Zach Jordan tallied an empty net goal for Jacksonville with 57 seconds remaining before Weiss scored a late goal for South Carolina to make it a 7-6 final. The Stingrays dropped to 17-8-1 on the year.
The Stingrays are back at home on Saturday, December 28, for Rock the Retro Night at the North Charleston Coliseum for their first matchup of the year against the Savannah Ghost Pirates.
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