Besse Scores 21st Goal for Stingrays in Defeat
By: Stingrays Media
An early third period goal by Chase Harrison gave the Norfolk Admirals (20-24-3-3) the lead for good in a 3-1 game against the South Carolina Stingrays (25-18-4-0) Wednesday night at the Norfolk Scope.
Grant Besse scored in the final minute of the second for South Carolina, while goaltender Parker Milner kept his team in the game with a 37-save performance that included a few highlight reel stops during the third period.
The Admirals began the game by putting up 20 total shots on goal in the first frame, but Milner kept the contest scoreless by stopping every attempt that came to the net in the opening period.
Kelly Klima made it 1-0 in favor of Norfolk with a power play goal at 6:57 of the second period.
Later in the frame, South Carolina got their first man-advantage opportunity of the game. The team thought they had initially tied the game up when forward Sam Fioretti redirected a shot by Andrew Cherniwchan into the net. But the goal was disallowed by the officials due to the puck being played with a high-stick.
The Rays kept at it and were able to score a good goal seconds later to pull even at 1-1. With just 23 seconds remaining in the period, Besse shot a rebound from a one-timer by Jordan Samuels-Thomas between the legs of goaltender Ty Reichenbach and into the net. Besse now has goals in eight of his last nine games and leads the club with 21 total tallies on the season. Defenseman Vinny Muto picked up the second assist on the goal, his eighth helper of the season.
Harrison gave the Admirals the lead for good at 5:05 of the third with a shot that beat Milner to make it 2-1 in favor of Norfolk.
Despite the Rays outshooting Norfolk 12-9 in the final frame, the Admirals held on to their lead and added an empty net goal to their score when Ben Duffy wristed the puck to the open cage at 19:37 of the third.
Reichenbach earned the victory for his club with 29 saves in the contest, while Norfolk outshot SC 40-30 in the game. The Stingrays scored their lone goal on their only power play opportunity of the night, while the Admirals finished 1-for-3 on the man-advantage. All four power play opportunities came during the second period.
The Stingrays return to the North Charleston Coliseum on Friday, February 15 for their first-ever matchup with the Newfoundland Growlers at 7:05 p.m. Tickets are on sale now!
To bring your group to the game, call the Stingrays Front Office at 843-744-2248! For single game tickets, visit ticketmaster.com.
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