Lions’ seven-game road trip comes to an end

The Lions’ seven-game road trip came to an end Sunday afternoon in South Carolina with the team facing the Stingrays for the second time this week. The first of the teams’ two meetings saw the Stingrays defeat Trois-Rivières 6-2. The Lions were looking to avenge that loss and end their U.S. east coast road swing on a high at North Charleston Coliseum.

Although the Lions had the upper hand in the shots on goal category in the first period, outshooting the Stingrays by a 10 to 6 margin, it was South Carolina’s Austin Magera registering the only goal of the period. Magera’s goal set off a cascade of stuffed animals being hurled onto the ice, as it was the Stingrays’ Teddy Bear Toss game.

The second period saw Magera score his second of the game at the 53-second mark. Then South Carolina’s Kameron Kielly scored at 10:51 to widen the Stingrays’ lead to 3-0. The Lions did themselves no favours by being assessed the only two penalties of the period: Anthony Beauregard for slashing and then Jakov Novak for hooking. The Lions were going to have to get their “A” game in gear in the third period if they had sights on salvaging this final game of the road trip.

The Lions did mount a comeback in the third period, but it was too little, too late: Cedric Montminy and Justin Ducharme each scored early in the period, just two minutes apart from one another. The Lions came close to tying the game as the final seconds ticked down, but Stingrays netminder Mitchell Gibson stood tall, giving South Carolina the 3-2 win. The Lions now return home to Trois-Rivières having finished the road trip with two wins and five losses.