Stingrays advance to south division finals
Courtesy of the SC Stingrays DULUTH, GA – Trailing late in the first period of Game 6 in the South Division Semifinals, the South Carolina Stingrays scored three unanswered goals while Garin Bjorklund stopped 28 shots to beat the Atlanta Gladiators, 3-1, on Monday night at Gas South Arena. With the victory, the Stingrays win the seven-game series, […]
Courtesy of the SC Stingrays DULUTH, GA – Trailing late in the first period of Game 6 in the South Division Semifinals, the South Carolina Stingrays scored three unanswered goals while Garin Bjorklund stopped 28 shots to beat the Atlanta Gladiators, 3-1, on Monday night at Gas South Arena. With the victory, the Stingrays win the seven-game series, 4-2, to advance to the South Division Finals. South Carolina went to the penalty kill quickly in Game 6.
Jalen Luypen was called for goaltender interference 31 seconds in sending Atlanta to the power play. The Stingrays killed off the penalty and would have to kill another past the midway mark in the first. While the Gladiators could not capitalize on the man advantage, Atlanta did capitalize on a Stingrays turnover.
Jack O’Brien intercepted a pass in South Carolina’s end, beating goaltender Garin Bjorklund from inside the near circle giving the Gladiators a 1-0 lead. Trailing by one, the Stingrays pressed for an equalizer late in the first. Stan Cooley battled deep in the attacking zone, wrapping the puck around the near post where Atlanta forward Carson Denomie batted the puck into his own net tying Game 6 at one with 2:01 remaining in the opening frame.
In the second, South Carolina got opportunities on the power play. Despite not scoring, the Stingrays pressured the Gladiators early in the second and broke through over eight minutes in. Justin Nachbaur let a shot go that kicked off the left pad of Atlanta netminder T.