South Carolina Stings 'Blades 4-2

ESTERO, Fla - Robby Dee scored twice to lead the South Carolina Stingrays to a 4-2 win over the Florida Everblades on Saturday night at Germain Arena.

The Stingrays got on the board first early in the first period. Stingrays forward Peter Boyd passed the puck across the slot to a waiting Robby Dee who fired the puck past Pat Nagle.

The tandem connected again at the end of the first period. Boyd led a 2-on-1 rush into the zone and steered a pass to the slot to Dee. Dee fired a shot that clipped off the pad of Nagle and into the back of the net with ten seconds remaining in the first period.  The Rays took the 2-0 advantage into the first break. .

The Everblades started the second in the power play, and after only a minute into the period, forward Matthew Pistilli faked a shot at the low circle, leaving Stingrays goaltender Ryan Zapolski occupied in the bottom right corner of the crease. Pistilli fed the puck to the high slot to Charles Landry who fired the shot into the open net while Zapolski was still down on the ice.

Less than five minutes later, the Everblades Tyson Gimblett carried the puck to the left wing circle and wristed a shot high in the right corner of the net to tie the game at two after 40 minutes played.

After a back and forth third period, South Carolina reclaimed the lead at the 10:27 mark.  Tyler Johnson fired a shot which hit off of the blocker of Nagle and dropped directly in the crease to his left. Boyd grabbed the puck and shoved it into the net for go-ahead goal to the put the score at 3-2.

South Carolina sealed the game with an empty-net goal by former Everblade Kevin Quick, who secured the 4-2 victory.

Zapolski earns his 25th win of the season stopping 24 of 26 shots, while Nagle take the loss allowing three goals on 27 shots faced.

The two teams meet again tomorrow on St. Patrick’s Day Sunday. Fans can receive a $10 terrace level ticket at the Capital Bank Box Office simply by wearing green to the game. There will green beer for fans by request as well.

Ticket Information: The Capital Bank Box Office is open Monday thru Friday from 10 a.m. – 6 p.m. and on Saturdays from 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. Fans may also call Ticketmaster at 1-800-745-3000, or order online at www.ticketmaster.com

Group discounts are also available, and can save fans up $8 off per ticket from the normal box office price. For more information on all available packages, call the Everblades office at 239-948-7825