ESTERO, FLA – Trailing by two at the start of the third, the South Carolina Stingrays (21-13-1-1) staged a three-goal comeback in the final period to defeat the Florida Everblades (25-8-1-2) 3-2 at Germain Arena on Saturday night.
Colton Saucerman played a big part in the resurgence by scoring his first goal of the season and adding an assist, while Scott Tanski netted the game-winner and Parker Milner made 26 saves to earn his 17th victory of the season.
Neither team was able to get on the board in the opening period, a frame in which each squad registered eight shots on net.
The Everblades took control of the game in the second, scoring twice to take a 2-0 advantage. First, defenseman Akim Aliu scored his second goal in as many games against the Rays on the power play at 12:04.
Then in the final seconds of the frame, Zack Kamrass sent Matt Berry in on a breakaway and the forward used a backhand shot to beat Milner up high and give Florida a two-goal lead with just 9.9 remaining on the clock.
Saucerman got the comeback started with his first goal of the season on the power play with a blast that beat Florida netminder Anthony Peters at 6:47 of the third.
Assists on the goal were credited to linemates Kelly Zajac and Joe Devin. The helper was Zajac’s 30th of the season and his 40th point of the year.
Patrick Gaul then tied the game at 2-2 with his sixth goal of the season at 11:03 of the final period with assists from Saucerman and defenseman Steve Weinstein. Saucerman took the initial shot from the right point, which bounced right to Gaul who buried the rebound.
Tanski provided the winner while the Rays were on the man-advantage, scoring on a redirection off a pass by forward Tim McGauley at 17:07 of the third. Domenic Monardo picked up the second assist on the goal for South Carolina, who went 2-for-4 on the power play.
By out-shooting Florida 15-4 in the third, the Stingrays had the advantage in shots on goal for the game, 29-28. The Everblades went 1-for-4 on the power play in the contest.
Florida was also led by Peters, who held South Carolina off the scoreboard for the first 46 minutes and finished with 26 saves.
The Stingrays now head to the All-Star break and are exactly halfway through their season. After a week off, the Rays return to the ice to battle Atlanta on the road at the Infinite Energy Center at 7:05 p.m. South Carolina returns home to take on Greenville Sunday, Jan. 22 at 3:05 p.m.
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