The South Carolina club hockey team continued their winnings ways Friday night with a 5-3 victory over UNC Charlotte at Indian Trail, North Carolina.
In a game that featured 60 penalty minutes, two ejections and a delay for debris on the ice, South Carolina silenced the 49er faithful by scoring early and often en route to their second consecutive win. After going down 1-0 four minutes in, the Gamecocks retaliated with three unanswered goals and never trailed in the game again.
Tom Gilmartin brought the 49ers back within one with a power-play goal just 1.9 seconds before the second intermission. With help from a Charlotte major penalty, South Carolina quickly responded in the third with goals from Ian Powderly and Alec Martone just 85 seconds apart.
Gamecocks forward Powderly recorded a goal and assist to total four points in his last two games. Jared Ward stood tall in net for the Gamecocks, stopping 36 of 39 shots and 14 of 15 in the final period.
For Charlotte, forward Andrew Miller scored twice in the loss, including a late power-play marker to get the 49ers within two with six minutes to play. In net, Fred Beaulieu tallied 23 saves in a losing effort.
South Carolina travels to Ford Ice Center in Antioch, Tennessee next weekend for the Southeastern Collegiate Hockey Conference Tournament.