NORTH CHARLESTON, SC – Sunday afternoon at the North Charleston Coliseum in North Charleston, South Carolina, the Jacksonville Icemen (10-21-3-2) played their third game in four days, finishing up playing a South Carolina Stingrays team (22-9-3-1) playing its third game in five days.
South Carolina was without head coach Ryan Warsofsky, who was headed to Indianapolis for the ECHL All-Star game. Steve Bergin and Jason Fitzsimmons co-coach the game for the Stingrays.
Colton Phinney (2-5-1-1 3.22 GGA) got the start for the Icemen while Parker Milner (10-3-2-0 2.57 GGA) started for the Stingrays.
The first period ended without any scoring. South Carolina easily outshot the short-handed Icemen in the period by a count of 12 shots to 4. Jacksonville was called for six minutes in penalties while South Carolina was called for four.
Scoring in the game would finally take place in the second period but it would take half of the period for that to happen. It was the Icemen that broke the logjam when Dajon Mingo recorded his first of the season at exactly the ten minute mark with assists going to Tanner Eberle and Josh Erickson. That lead would hold up for just over two minutes, when at 12:21, South Carolina tied the game on Joey Leach’s fourth of the season off assists from Steven Whitney and Tim McGauley.
With a penalty on Jacksonville’s Scott Savage for hooking coming to an end late in the second, South Carolina took the lead when Paul Geiger scored at 18:09. Leach and Matt Salhany got the assists. After two, South Carolina led 2-1.
The Stingrays once again dominated the shots on goal for the period, outshooting the Icemen 11-5. After two, South Carolina led in shots 23-9. The only two penalties of the period were both called on Jacksonville. After two, Jacksonville led the penalty minute count 10-4.
South Carolina kept that one-goal lead for almost the entire period, shutting down the Icemen. Jacksonville pulled Phinney for an extra attacker late however the move did not work as South Carolina’s Steven Whitney added an empty net goal, his 13th of the season at 18:49 to close out the scoring and give South Carolina the 3-1 win.
South Carolina would be assessed the only two penalties of the period, both minors. Jacksonville won the penalty minute count 10-8. Jacksonville also had more shots on goal in the third period, outshooting the Stingrays 8-7. Overall, South Carolina outshot Jacksonville 30-17.
Icechips: All three stars of the game were from the Stingrays. Joey Leach (1st), Parker Milner (2nd) and Paul Geiger (3rd)… Attendance for the game was 3,284… Jacksonville continues with game two of its four game road trip up north on Friday as they visit the Worcester Railers, in the only regular season meeting between the two teams this season… South Carolina will start a short three game road trip with its first game Friday in Norfolk against the Admirals.
Contact the author at kenneth.holdren@prohockeynews.com
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