NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C. – Tied in the 2nd period, the South Carolina Stingrays scored three unanswered goals, including two from Jordan Klimek, to skate by the Orlando Solar Bears, 5-3, on Sunday afternoon in front of 5,067 fans at the North Charleston Coliseum.
South Carolina (7-3-0-0) looked for another fast start and got it from Ben Hawerchuk. The day after he played his 200th professional game, Hawerchuk opened the scoring with 12:58 left in the 1st period, punching home his second goal of the season putting South Carolina ahead, 1-0. The Stingrays added to their advantage on the power play after Simon Pinard blasted home his fifth goal of the year, giving South Carolina a 2-0 lead with 6:26 left in the frame.
Orlando (1-8-0-0) did not go away quietly. Spencer Kersten scored on the power play with 22 seconds left in the 1st, and Reece Newkirk tied the game 3:52 into the 2nd period again on the power play, knotting the game at two in the early stages of the frame.
The Stingrays searched for an answer, and found it from defenseman Jordan Klimek. Klimek finished off a centering pass from Patrick Guzzo putting South Carolina ahead for good, 3-2, with 2:13 left in the 2nd period. South Carolina added insurance with less than 30 seconds remaining. D.J. King got his own rebound, slotting home his first goal as a Stingray, giving South Carolina a 4-2 lead heading to the 3rd period.
In the 3rd, Klimek got his second goal, wiring home a slap shot with 8:27 left in regulation, building the Stingrays lead to three, 5-2. Orlando got a goal late from Dylan Gill but the Stingrays held on to beat Orlando, 5-3.
Klimek finished the day with two goals while Hawerchuk, Luypen and Guzzo all had multi-point nights. Stingrays netminder Seth Eisele earned his first win of the season saving 31 shots on 34 attempts.