NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C. – The South Carolina Stingrays took a 6-3 victory over the Savannah Ghost Pirates in front of a enthusiatic crowd of over 6,000 fans for Vice on Ice Night. Contributing to the win were Jacob Graves, Charlie Combs, Ryan Hofer, Romain Rodzinski, Justin Nachbaur, and Reilly Webb, who all found the back of the net for the Stingrays. In the crease, goaltender Mitchell Gibson had an outstanding showing, making 30 saves to help secure the win.
The Stingrays scored their first goal at 9:41 into the first period when Jace Isley made a diagonal cross-ice pass to Graves who scored his third goal of the season, beating Savannah Goaltender Keith Kinkaid. Assisting in the play were Isley and Jamie Engelbert.
After a little more than three minutes, the Stingrays extended their lead. Austin Magera also connected with the puck as Combs swooped in and skillfully guided it past Kinkaid, securing a 2-0 lead. Both Magera and Rodzinski contributed assists to Combs’ 17th goal of the season.
Less than five minutes later, South Carolina extended their lead to three when Jayden Lee kept the puck alive in the offensive zone and found Isley behind the net. Isley then passed to Hofer, who one-timed it home for his eighth goal of the season. Isley and Lee were credited with the assists on the goal.
Less than a minute into the second period, the Rays increased their lead. Tyler Weiss passed the puck to Webb at the top of the zone. Webb then transferred the puck to Rodzinski, scored a wrist shot, marking his second goal in three games. Weiss and Webb were credited with the assists for Rodzinski’s goal.
The Ghost Pirates squeaked in a goal at 6:45 into the second period, while Stingray goalie Seth Eisele had the crease as a stand in while Gibson handled an equipment snafu. As he took a fall, Savannah’s Josh Davies managed to sneak a shot past Eisele, breaking South Carolina’s shutout.
Later in the second period, the Stingrays reclaimed their four goal lead with less than a minute remaining. Weiss maneuvered around the Savannah defender and then passed to Nachbaur, who was making a swift run towards the goal. Nachbaur scored his ninth goal of the year, securing the point for the Rays.
In the third, The Ghost Pirates got a goal back 3:42 when Zach Uens beat Gibson with a quick wrist shot to make it 5-2.
But before long. South Carolina once again increased their lead to four goals. Engelbert passed the puck to Webb, whose shot bounced off the end wall, then off the back of Kinkaid, ultimately crossing the goal line for his third goal of the season. Rodzinski and Engelbert contributed with the assists on the play.
Savannah scored their third goal at 17:28 into the third period. Nick Granowicz scored his fourth goal of the season with just over two and a half minutes remaining, extending the lead to 6-3.
Check out this photo gallery from Inside The Rink’s Julie Taylor for highlights from the game.
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