NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C. – Starting off a three-game weekend at home, the South Carolina Stingrays found themselves in a back-and-forth contest with the Atlanta Gladiators that required overtime to decide. Over five minutes into the extra frame, John Fusco punched home the game-winning goal as South Carolina beat Atlanta, 3-2, on Friday evening at the North Charleston Coliseum in front of 4,026 fans.
Coming off a shutout victory last Sunday, South Carolina (24-13-1-0) looked to carry that momentum into the opening period at home. After a few early chances, the Stingrays earned a 5-on-3 power play and applied pressure to Atlanta (23-9-1-0) goaltender T.J. Semptimphelter but were unable to capitalize.
In the late stages of the frame, the Gladiators struck first. Isak Walther opened the scoring with 1:51 remaining in the first period, giving the visitors a 1-0 lead heading into the second.
In the middle 20 minutes, the Stingrays looked for an answer and found one early. Ryan Hofer gloved down a clearing attempt in the offensive zone, skated it to the goal line, and dropped a pass into the slot for Ludwig Persson, who tied the game just 4:46 into the period.
South Carolina controlled play in the middle frame, outshooting Atlanta 11-5, and broke through again with less than two minutes remaining. Patrick Guzzo took a pass in the near circle and wired a shot off the post and in, giving the Stingrays their first lead of the night, 2-1, heading into the second intermission.
In the final 20 minutes of regulation, Atlanta held the Stingrays to just one shot and found an equalizer with 9:04 remaining. Chad Nychuk sent a pass into the slot that deflected off a South Carolina stick and into the back of the net, tying the game 2-2. Neither side found a go-ahead goal over the final nine minutes, and the contest went to overtime.
Atlanta generated two quick chances that Stingrays netminder Seth Eisele turned aside before South Carolina went on the attack. The Stingrays continued to pressure and finally found the winner with less than two minutes remaining in the extra frame. John Fusco chased down the rebound of his own shot and punched home the game-winning goal at the 5:12 mark, lifting the Stingrays to a 3-2 overtime victory over the Gladiators.
With the win, the Stingrays earned their fourth overtime victory of the season. Seth Eisele stopped 30 of 32 shots for his second consecutive win. With his second-period goal, Patrick Guzzo now has four goals in his last seven games.
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