Sports
Magera’s First Professional Tally Lifts Stingrays Past Icemen
JACKSONVILLE, FL – Austin Magera’s first professional goal lifted the South Carolina Stingrays (34-19-4-1) to a 5-3 victory over the Jacksonville Icemen (36-18-3-1) on Wednesday Night at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena.
Jacksonville jumped out to an early lead as Easton Brodzinski netted his eighth goal of the season only 39 seconds into the opening frame. Brodzinski intercepted a pass between the circles and wristed a shot past the glove of Tyler Wall for the 1-0 lead.
South Carolina evened the score with 5:41 remaining in the first period from the league’s top power play. Jackson Leppard flipped a rebound past a diving Parker Gahagen for the 1-1 game to close out the opening stanza.
Justin Florek gave the Stingrays their first lead of the evening at the 3:19 mark of the middle frame. Bear Hughes hit Florek with a no-look pass where the veteran forward snuck a shot past the blocker of Gahagen for the 2-1 advantage.
Jacksonville tied the game at the halfway point in the contest on Derek Lodermeier’s 16th marker of the year. Lodermeier placed a shot from the left circle over the glove of Wall for the 2-2 contest.
Michael Kim regained the South Carolina advantage five minutes later as he fired a one-timer past Gahagen for the 3-2 lead. Anthony Del Gaizo extended his point streak to eight straight games, feeding Kim for an assist on the go-ahead marker.
Brandon Fortunato slapped a one-timer over the glove of Wall to tie the game at three goals apiece with 7:30 remaining in regulation. Chris Grando picked up his first professional point in his pro hockey debut, assisting Fortunato for the right circle shot.
Magera added to his career night, tallying the game-winning goal along with two assists to give the Stingrays a 4-3 lead with 2:11 remaining in the third period. Ryan Scarfo’s followed Magera with his ninth marker of the year to secure the victory with 36 seconds left on the clock.
The Stingrays complete the five-game road trip this Friday, March 17th at the Bon Secours Wellness Arena as they take on the Greenville Swamp Rabbits beginning at 7:05 p.m.
2023-24 Season ticket plans are on sale now! For more information or to purchase, contact the Stingrays by phone at 843-744-2248 or submit this form.