NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C. – The South Carolina Stingrays are on fire, extending their winning streak to 11 games with an exciting 5-4 overtime victory against the Jacksonville Icemen at the North Charleston Coliseum. The game took place in front of a lively crowd of 6,421 fans on a Sunday afternoon. Alexander Suzdalev scored twice, alongside goals from Jayden Lee, Romain Rodzinski, and Jordan Klimek for the Stingrays. Garin Bjorklund, the goaltender, was solid in the net, making 25 saves to secure the win. Currently, the Stingrays are leading the ECHL with 97 points and are in 1st place in the Southern division and the League.
The Stingrays scored the first goal of the game 12 minutes and 23 seconds into the match when Suzdalev scored his 13th goal of the season by one-timing it into the net. Austin Magera and Rodzinski were credited with the assists on the goal. With only 48 seconds left in the first period, Jacksonville’s Chris Grando found the net and tied the game.
In the 2nd period, South Carolina regained the lead six minutes and 23 seconds in. Tyler Weiss maneuvered the puck behind the net, before passing to a wide-open Lee in the slot. Lee fired a shot into the net, securing a 2-1 lead for the Stingrays. Weiss contributed with the only assist on the play. Jacksonville quickly responded by tying the game just 26 seconds later, when Ty Cheveldayoff scored. South Carolina gained a 3-2 lead at the 8:14 mark when Suzdalev passed to Rodzinski who then skated to the left and successfully shot the puck through traffic, scoring his seventh goal of the season. Suzdalev and Erik Middendorf both contributed assists to the play.
The Stingrays quickly increased their lead just one minute and 26 seconds later. From the goal line, Charlie Combs passed the puck to Connor Moore, who then passed the puck to Klimek, who sent a wrist shot through traffic to score, bringing the score to 4-2 in favor of the Stingrays. Both Moore and Combs assisted Klimek in scoring his third goal of the season. The Iceman score 35 seconds later, when Christopher Brown tipped in a Noah Laaouan shot to make it 4-3.
With 8:33 left in regulation, Jacksonville managed to tie the game once more. Olivier Nadeau sealed the deal by finishing off a pass while falling to the ice, evening the score at four.
The Stingrays secured their 11th consecutive win in overtime, with just over four minutes remaining. Suzdalev scored his second goal of the game with assists on the overtime win credited to Rodzinski and Lee.
Check out this photo gallery from Inside The Rink’s Julie Taylor for highlights from the game.
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