ORLANDO, FL. - The Stingrays scored three goals in the second period but dropped a 4-3 decision against the Solar Bears on Tuesday night in Orlando. Goaltender Seth Eisele stopped 13 of 17 shots in the loss.
The Solar Bears got on the board first with a breakaway goal by Spencer Kersten just before the halfway mark of the period. Orlando's Ara Nazarian sprung Kersten on a partial break, and Kersten snapped one over Eisele's glove to make it 1-0 Solar Bears. That score held after 20 minutes. South Carolina outshot Orlando 7-5 in the first period.
Tyler Bird added to the Solar Bears' lead with a shorthanded goal just 38 seconds into the second period to make it 2-0.
The Stingrays' comeback started three minutes later with a tally by Jamie Engelbert. Engelbert deked out Orlando goaltender Ryan Fanti and lofted the puck over Fanti's blocker to cut the Orlando lead in half. Austin Magera and Andrew Perrott recorded assists on South Carolina's first goal of the night.
Micah Miller tied things up with a power-play goal for the Stingrays. Fanti made the initial save on Perrott's one-timer from the point, but the rebound popped out to Miller, who closed the deal. Kyler Kupka also recorded an assist on the tally.
South Carolina took the lead with under three minutes remaining in the second period. Ryan Hofer scored his second goal in as many games when he picked up a rebound off Ben Hawerchuk's shot. The goal was a three-man effort, and Erik Middendorf earned a secondary assist for creating the play from the middle.
Just over halfway through the final 20 minutes, Orlando tied things up with Kersten's second goal of the night. The shot came from the high slot and through traffic to beat Eisele and make it 3-3.
Orlando's Mark Auk scored the final goal of the evening off a shot from the blue line that bounced awkwardly through traffic and found its way into the back of the net.
The Rays pulled their goaltender with 2:12 remaining but could not secure the tying tally.
South Carolina will be back in action against Orlando on Saturday, February 8, to celebrate Women in Sports Night at the North Charleston Coliseum. Puck drop will be at 6:05 pm.
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