Rays take 3-0 series lead Late goal sinks FLorida

NORTH CHARLESTON, SC – Forward Rob Bellamy netted the game-winning goal with 23 seconds remaining in the third period to send the South Carolina Stingrays (7-3) past the Florida Everblades (4-5) 3-2 in Game 3 of the East Division Finals at the North Charleston Coliseum Tuesday evening. The Stingrays lead the best-of-seven series 3-0 with a chance to close in Game 4 Wednesday night at 7:05 at the Coliseum.

The Everblades kicked off the scoring 2:23 into the contest as forward Nicolas 2015KellyCupPlayoffs_665x315Deschamps caught a pass from forward Alex Aleardi to beat Stingrays netminder Jeff Jakaitis (W, 21 saves on 23 shots) for his fourth goal of the playoffs. The Stingrays responded at 9:08 when forward Sean Dolan slipped a rebound past the right pad of Everblades goaltender Allen York (L, 21 saves on 24 shots) off the top of the crease. Forwards Derek DeBlois and Caleb Herbert added assists.
Defenseman Michal Cajkovsky put the Stingrays in front at 7:05 of the second period jumping into the offensive rush from the left-wing point, grabbing a feed from DeBlois and beating York over the blocker. Forward Andrew Rowe netted the second assist.
Early in the third period, the Everblades outshot the Stingrays 8-0 and forward Corey Trivino tapped in a loose puck under Jakaitis at 6:20 to make it 2-2. With the clock winding down, the Stingrays pushed the puck into the offensive zone for one final rush. Defensemen Marcus Perrier and Scott Ford connected to find Bellamy breaking between the faceoff circles and slipped a backhanded shot between the legs of York with 23 seconds remaining for the game-winning tally. The Stingrays finished the game 0-for-5 on the power play while the Everblades went 0-for-6.

 

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