Sports
Stingrays Drop Wednesday Night Battle with Florida
ESTERO, FL – A late goal from Jake Smith downed the South Carolina Stingrays (32-18-4-1) by a final score of 2-1 to the Florida Everblades (31-16-4-4) at Hertz Arena on Wednesday evening.
South Carolina jumped out to a 1-0 lead on Anthony Del Gaizo’s 12th tuck of the season at the 10:40 mark of the opening period. Del Gaizo swept a rebound from Bear Hughes past Evan Fitzpatrick for the early advantage.
Nathan Staios tied the game with 2:38 remaining in the middle stanza with his third marker of the year. While on the power play, Staios sent a shot past the low glove of Clay Stevenson for the 1-1 contest to close out the period.
With time winding down in regulation, Smith ripped a slap shot past the blocker of Stevenson for the game-winning goal. Smith crossed into the offensive zone and took a shot from inside the blue line for the 2-1 final.
The Stingrays return to action this Friday, March 10th as they continue their three-game series at Hertz Arena against the Florida Everblades beginning at 7:30 pm.