ESTERO, Fla. — In the first of two consecutive meetings this weekend, the South Carolina Stingrays fell to the Florida Everblades 4-1 on April 10 at Hertz Arena.
Florida (46-13-7-3) struck quickly as Cole Moberg scored 19 seconds in giving the Everblades a 1-0 lead on the first shot of the game.
Trailing by a goal, South Carolina (43-22-1-3) pressed for a response. The Stingrays drew a penalty just over eight minutes in, and only needed 17 seconds to capitalize on the man advantage. Zac Funk knocked home his eighth goal of the year tying the game at 1 with 11:14 remaining in the first.
The Everblades found the lead again shortly after. Tarun Fizer gave the home side the lead with 7:54 left in the first and Florida took the one-goal advantage to the middle frame.
In the second, neither side could figure out the netminders. Stingrays goaltender Ty Taylor, who had a busy first period seeing 18 shots, stopped all seven Everblades shots in the second, keeping the deficit at one heading to the final frame.
Despite opportunities in the third for the Stingrays, Florida added to its advantage with less than eight minutes remaining. Jordan Sambrook built the Everblades lead to two, 3-1, with 7:40 left in regulation.
The Stingrays went to the power play late and pulled Taylor for a 6-on-4 chance, but Reid Duke scored an empty-net goal coming out of the penalty box after the power play had expired, sealing a 4-1 decision for Florida.
Coming up
South Carolina and Florida meet for the final time in the regular season on Saturday evening. Puck drop is set for 7 p.m. from Hertz Arena.
South Carolina returns to the North Charleston Coliseum on April 18 against the Orlando Solar Bears for Fan Appreciation Night, presented by Amped Electric, at 6:05 p.m.