NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C. — The Savannah Ghost Pirates, proud ECHL affiliate of the Florida Panthers, dropped a 3–2 contest to the South Carolina Stingrays on Sunday afternoon.
The Ghost Pirates struck first 7:54 into the game when Nick Granowicz fired in a tough-angle shot to give Savannah a 1–0 lead. Matt Koopman and Liam Walsh recorded the assists.
South Carolina answered less than two minutes later when Josh Wilkins sent Charlie Combs on a partial breakaway. Combs tucked the puck in on the left side to tie the game at 1–1.
The Stingrays took their first lead of the afternoon with 1:58 remaining in the first period when Dean Loukus fired in a shot from the left side to make it 2–1 heading into the intermission.
South Carolina doubled its lead just 1:35 into the second period when Simon Pinard centered the puck to Wilkins, who tapped it home to make it 3–1.
Savannah cut the deficit to one later in the frame when Josh Lopina tipped in a Keaton Pehrson shot to make it 3–2. Phip Waugh collected the secondary assist on the final goal of the second period.
Despite a high-intensity third period, the Stingrays held on for the 3–2 victory.
Ty Taylor earned the win for South Carolina, stopping 28 of 30 shots. Noah Giesbrecht made 24 saves on 27 shots for Savannah.
The Ghost Pirates return home Thursday to begin a six-game homestand. Thursday’s game is Troop Thursday, presented by VyStar Credit Union, against the Toledo Walleye with puck drop scheduled for 7:00 p.m. ET. The game will be streamed live on FloHockey and broadcast on Mixlr. Tickets and additional information about upcoming home games are available at ghostpirateshockey.com.
— GHOST PIRATES —