JACKSONVILLE (Florida Sports Wire) – The South Carolina Stingrays (16-7-2-0) picked up a 3-2 overtime victory over the Jacksonville Icemen (14-9-3-0). Patrick Harper scored twice, including the overtime winner, and Garin Bjorklund stopped 25 of 27 shots in the victory.
Harper opened the scoring for the Stingrays 5:56 into the first period. He collected a feed from Jonny Evans and chipped a shot over the blocker of Jacksonville goaltender Michael Houser. Jack Adams made it 2-0 when he banged home a cross-ice feed from Austin Magera less than two minutes later. Magera picked up his team-leading 25th point of the season on the goal.
The second period saw no scoring, but Jacksonville pulled even with two quick goals in the third. Chris Grando knocked in his fourth goal of the season on a rebound right in front of the net. After the goal, a scarp ensued in front of the net, and the Icemen were awarded a two-minute power play. Jacksonville captain Christopher Brown tied the game on the ensuing man advantage.
Overtime featured several chances back and forth, but Harper iced the game when he took a feed in the slot, shot one into the pads of Houser, but knocked in his own rebound to secure South Carolina’s fifth straight victory. The goal was Harper’s second overtime winner in Jacksonville this season.
Luchuk’s Hat-trick Propels Solar Bears Past Swamp Rabbits
GREENVILLE, S.C. – Aaron Luchuk’s hat-trick performance helped to overpower the Greenville Swamp Rabbits as they fell to the Orlando Solar Bears 7-2 on Saturday night at Bon Secours Wellness Arena.
The first meeting between the Swamp Rabbits and the Solar Bears didn’t take long to produce offense, as Jake Smith scored his seventh of the season just 3:18 into the game for the 1-0 Greenville lead. Not long after, at 5:59, Orlando answered with a deflection goal from Tanner Dickinson. Later in the period, at 17:54, Orlando broke into the zone with a 2-on-1 and capitalized with an Aaron Luchuk goal for the 2-1 lead.
In the second period, the team’s traded shots before Orlando converted for a 3-1 advantage, as a misplayed puck fell for Aaron Luchuk, who scored his second of the game at 14:35. After a hard hit in the Swamp Rabbits’ offensive zone, Greenville’s Joe Leahy dropped the gloves with Chris Harpur late in the period.
The third saw Orlando score a pair of goals to add to its advantage, as Mitch Hoelscher was credited with a power-play goal at 5:03, and Alex Frye added another at 6:09. At 15:02 Smith was credited with a power-play goal for Greenville, before Luchuck secured his hat-trick on an empty-net goal at 16:58. At 17:52, Tanner Schachle netted his first of the season, solidifying the 7-2 final.
With the loss, the Swamp Rabbits remain atop the Eastern Conference but fall to 19-8-0-0, while the Solar Bears improve to 13-9-1-1
(SportsDay photo by Nancy Beecher/Florida Sports Wire)
