North Charleston, SC – Bobby Goepfert recorded his third shutout of the season giving the Rays the 2-0 win over the Gwinnett Gladiators at the North Charleston Coliseum.
“I really liked the way we played tonight,” said Head Coach Jared Bednar. “For me, this was a very entertaining game because both teams came out to compete.”
The Stingrays struck first in the game when Bryson Busniuk gave the Rays a 1-0 lead after one period of play. Busniuk fired a laser, top-shelf, over the glove of Gwinnett goalie Kevin Nastiuk. The goal came at 9:04 of the period and was assisted by Sasha Pokulok and Tom Maxwell, and was the only tally for either team in the period.
The second period featured the Stingrays having two goals disallowed, but stingy defense kept it a 1-0 game after 40 minutes. Matt Scherer fired a shot that appeared to hit the back of the net and pop out as the red light went on, but it was immediately ruled a no goal by the referee. Later in the period, Maxime Lacroix was able to knock in a rebound behind Nastiuk, but that goal was also disallowed after it was ruled that Lacroix had kicked the puck into the net. With less than two minutes to go in the period, the Stingrays had a shorthanded opportunity that was snuffed out when Matt Siddall covered up the puck in the crease, resulting in an automatic penalty shot. The shot was taken by Travis Morin but was turned aside by Nastiuk keeping it a one goal game.
The Gladiators turned up the heat in the third period and out-shot the Stingrays 19-13, but Bobby Goepfert stood up tall for the Stingrays and turned aside every shot he faced. With just :27 seconds left in the game, and the goaltender pulled in favor of the extra attacker, Pierre-Luc O’Brien got the empty net goal to nail down the victory at 2-0. The goal was O’Brien’s ninth and was assisted by Morin and Jeff Corey.
The winning goaltender was Goepfert who stopped all 35 shots he faced en route to his third shutout. The losing goaltender was Nastiuk who stopped 34 of the 35 shots he faced. The Rays went 0-6 on the power play while killing off all seven short handed situations they faced.
We’ll be back tomorrow night when the Rays travel to play the Gwinnett Gladiators at the Arena at GwinnettCenter. Game time will be at 7:05 P.M. You can hear the game live on ESPN Radio 910 the TEAM starting with the Benitos pre-game show beginning at 6:50.
Don’t miss all the fast-paced, hard-hitting action! Individual tickets can be purchased at the North Charleston Coliseum box office, by calling Ticketmaster at (843) 554-6060 and online at www.ticketmaster.com.
Full and partial season tickets are available by calling (843) 744-2248 or by visiting online at www.stingrayshockey.com. Stingrays Hockey – A Whole Lot Cooler!
Gwinnett Gladiators 0 at South Carolina Stingrays 2 - Status: Unofficial Final
Jan 2, 2009 - North Charleston Coliseum
1st Period
Scoring - 1. South Carolina, B. Busniuk (2) (S. Pokulok, T. Maxwell) 9:04
Penalties - J. Sawyer Gwt (cross-checking minor 59.2) 5:50, J. Mason Gwt (high-sticking - minor 60.2) 9:25
2nd Period
Scoring - No Scoring
Penalties - M. Lacroix Sc (interference on the goalkeeper - minor 69.2) 11:16, Served by D. Sullivan Gwt (bench minor - too many men 74.2) 12:11, B. Turner Gwt (holding - minor 54.2) 12:44, J. Sawyer Gwt (interference - minor 56.2) 14:50, J. Corey Sc (high-sticking - double minor 60.3) 14:58
3rd Period
Scoring - 2. South Carolina, P. O'Brien (9) (T. Morin, J. Corey) 19:33 EN
Penalties - B. Busniuk Sc (interference - minor 56.2) 6:50, J. Kroll Sc (holding - minor 54.2) 10:54, M. Siddall Gwt (charging minor 43.2) 14:20, T. Morin Sc (high-sticking - minor 60.2) 17:00, M. Lacroix Sc (elbowing - minor 46.2) 19:57
