Goalie Justin Kapelmaster shines as Icemen defeat South Carolina
![Jacksonville Icemen forward Luke Lynch (9) scores the games first goal in front of South Carolina Stingrays defenseman Skyler Smutek (20), right, during an ECHL hockey game at Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Fla., Friday, Jan. 21, 2022. [Gary Lloyd McCullough/For the Jacksonville Icemen]](https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/zTLeCBPeuH1OgMDVuxONjA--/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTEyNDI7aD04Mjg-/https://media.zenfs.com/en/the-florida-times-union/0dfb58b365c3a3572cc7169f552cbc52)
Turning point: Defenseman Jacob Friend scored the tie-breaking goal at 13:04 of the opening period and the Icemen defense did the rest, defeating the South Carolina Stingrays 2-1 Friday night in ECHL hockey at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena.
Three stars: 1. Justin Kapelmaster, Jacksonville (27 saves). 2. Friend, Jacksonville (one goal). 3. Luke Lynch, Jacksonville (one goal).
Penalty box: Lynch scored a short-handed goal off a Derek Lodermeier assist for the first Icemen goal of the night.
Around the rink: The Icemen (21-9-2-1) overtook the former first-place Florida Everblades in the ECHL South Division race, with the Everblades surrendering three late goals against Atlanta. ... Friend scored only 25 seconds after Nick Isaacson had tied the score for South Carolina (12-19-3-0). ... Kapelmaster further slashed his goals-against average to 1.30 in his four games since joining the Icemen.
The Times-Union
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: ECHL hockey report: Jacksonville Icemen-South Carolina Stingrays, January 21
