SAVANNAH, GA. - Thanks to an overtime goal from Austin Magera, the Stingrays took down the Savannah Ghost Pirates 2-1 in OT at Enmarket Arena on Wednesday night. Micah Miller and Magera scored for the Stingrays, while goaltender Garin Bjorklund stopped 31 of 32 shots in the victory.
The Stingrays opened the scoring 3:36 into the first period. Alexander Suzdalev sent a stretch pass over to Erik Middendorf, and Middendorf feathered a pass toward the slot to a charging Miller. Miller caught the puck on his backhand, switched to his forehand, and beat Ghost Pirates' goaltender Keith Kinkaid to get the Stingrays up 1-0. Middendorf and Suzdalev picked up the assists on Miller's 17th goal of the year.
The teams saw a scoreless second period, with both goaltenders making big saves. South Carolina outshot the Ghost Pirates 11-5 and killed off two penalties in the period.
With 46 seconds left in regulation, the Ghost Pirates tied the game with the extra attacker. Devon Paliani beat Bjorklund for his team-leading 24th goal of the year to tie the game at one.
South Carolina picked up the win and the extra point 5:14 into overtime. Magera was the first Stingray to a loose puck after an errant pass from Savannah. He used his time and space and ripped one over Kinkaid's glove to give South Carolina a 2-1 victory.
South Carolina returns home to face the Ghost Pirates on Saturday for Vice on Ice Night at the North Charleston Coliseum. Puck drop is scheduled for 6:05 pm.