With one more game guaranteed at North Charleston Coliseum, the South Carolina Stingrays wanted to secure a chance to clinch at home. With a 4-2 win, they push the South Division regular season winners, the Florida Everblades to the brink with a 3-1 series lead.
The Stingrays will have a chance to move on to the Eastern Conference Finals tomorrow night. The Stingrays are undefeated at home so far in these playoffs.
Parker Milner helped the cause with 28 saves from his side of the blue paint. Anthony Peters started for Florida and made nine saves on 12 shots.
Steven McParland scored early in the second period on a 2-on-1 with Derek Arnold, inserted into the lineup off reserve.
Domenic Monardo forced Logan Roe into hooking him on a clear breakaway, leading to a penalty shot. He pumped up the crowd, snaked in on Peters, and beat him to the low glove side.
Monardo helped the next goal, too, where Rob Flick finally found the scoresheet for the first time in the series. Flick and Monardo had a 2-on-zero to work with, and Peters committed to Monardo. Flick chipped the pass over Peters’ sprawling pads. Alex Nedeljkovic came in after the goal to relieve Peters.
John McCarron beat Milner to bring the deficit to two. After a Matt Berry drop pass in the left faceoff circle, McCarron picked out the high blocker side. Dalton Smith used a similar play, tipping Stephen MacAualy’s shot in the high slot, to bring the Everblades within one.
Wade Epp and Matt Berry settled tensions with their fists in the third period. Linesman Charlie O’Connor caught a stray punch from Epp when he stepped in to break it up. Both got roughing double minors, as the linesmen did not let Epp and Berry go very long.
Nedeljkovic stopped all 12 shots he faced after coming in in relief, including a save on Olivier Archambault’s breakaway late in the third period.
Florida got two shots off with Nedeljkovic on the bench in the last two minutes. Kelly Zajac found the empty net from his own blue line to seal the score.
