Sports
Stingrays Fall to Swamp Rabbits in Road Finale
By: Stingrays Media
GREENVILLE, SC – The South Carolina Stingrays (44-22-4-1) fell to the Greenville Swamp Rabbits (40-23-8-1) by a final score of 7-1 on Friday night at the Bon Secours Wellness Arena.
Greenville struck first with 5:38 remaining in the opening period as Brett Kemp buried his 23rd goal of the year. Clay Stevenson faced a two-man breakaway where Kemp received a pass from Josh McKechney and finished the play for the 1-0 lead after one period.
The Swamp Rabbits opened the floodgates at the halfway point in the middle stanza as Ethan Somoza recorded his 20th tally of the season. Somoza completed a two-on-one rush where he slammed a backdoor pass from Kemp for the 2-0 advantage.
Colton Young added his first professional goal 1:08 later as he flung a shot from the right circle that beat Stevenson for the 3-0 lead. Ben Freeman intercepted a Stingrays’ pass and fed Young for the tally.
Nikita Pavlychev recorded his fifth goal in the last two games with 7:24 left in the middle frame. He received a pass at the bottom of the left circle and flipped it past a diving Stevenson for the four-goal advantage.
Kemp netted his second goal of the night nearly 50 seconds later on another odd-man rush as he slid a shot through the five-hole for the 5-0 lead, ending Stevenson’s night with 21 saves. Tyler Wall relieved Stevenson with 6:38 remaining in the middle period.
Freeman sent the first shot against Wall past the new netminder for his 13th goal of the year. Freeman skated to the left circle where he placed a perfect shot over the glove for the 6-0 lead to end the second period.
Lawton Courtnall got the Stingrays on the board at the 8:31 mark of the final frame as he netted the lone tally for South Carolina in the contest. Courtnall sped ahead of the Greenville defense and lifted a shot past the blocker of Luke Richardson for his ninth goal of the year.
Greenville closed out the game on a tally from Brannon McManus with 21 seconds left in regulation as he finished a breakaway by sending a shot past Wall for the 7-1 final.
The Stingrays conclude the regular season against the Jacksonville Icemen tomorrow, April 15th, at the North Charleston Coliseum. Puck drop is set for 6:05 p.m. as the Stingrays celebrate the best fans in hockey with Fan Appreciation Night. The first 1,000 fans through the door will receive a Stingrays-branded beach towel, presented by Amped Electric and parking is free!
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