BY: Cristiano Simonetta, Catherine Morrison
SAVANNAH, GA一 Brent Pedersen scored two goals, but the Savannah Ghost Pirates (24-31-4-1) fell to the South Carolina Stingrays 4-6 (35-22-3-1) on St. Patrick’s Day at Enmarket Arena.
At 8:30 of the first period, South Carolina broke the stalemate with a shorthanded goal from Austin Magera. Jacob Hudson added an insurance goal at 14:27 to give the Stingrays a 2-0 lead.
Brent Pedersen scored Savannah’s first goal at the right faceoff circle at 16:19 to cut their deficit in half. The Stingrays regained momentum in the second period with a goal 46 seconds in, scored by Hudson.
Savannah retaliated at 3:19 with a power-play goal by Simon Pinard. Pinard is the first Ghost Pirates player this season to reach 20 goals. The Drummondville, QC native joins Pedersen, Alex Swetlikoff and Vince Marleau as the only players to reach 20 goals or more in a single season in a Ghost Pirates uniform.
Marko Reifenberger responded for South Carolina for his first professional goal at 8:59 into the second period, extending their lead to 4-2.
Pedersen then scored his second goal of the night, this time off a backdoor setup from Ross Armour from an incredibly tight angle. Pedersen’s 18th goal this season got Savannah within one again.
However, Hudson completed the hat trick at 15:19, keeping the Ghost Pirates at bay through 40 minutes.
Savannah came back within one at 10:38 in the third period when Pat Guay scored, potting home a rebound off an initial shot from Swetlikoff. Guay's 11th goal of the season marked his third tally over the last two games.
Magera notched an empty-net goal in the final minute, ending Savannah’s comeback bid.
Jesper Vikman made 37 saves for Savannah on 42 shots. The Ghost Pirates went 1-for-2 on the power play and 4-for-4 on the penalty kill.
The Ghost Pirates will travel to Estero, Florida, for a three-game road trip against the Florida Everblades, starting Wednesday, March 20, at 7:30 p.m. Coverage will be on FloSports and Mixlr.
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