Stingrays Hold Glads to 16 Shots in 4-2 Win

The South Carolina Stingrays (7-6-0-0) scored three times in the first period to get out to an early lead and held the Atlanta Gladiators (4-5-2-0) quiet late in the game to earn a 4-2 win on Tuesday night at the North Charleston Coliseum.

Four different forwards found the back of the net for South Carolina in the victory, with Sam Fioretti, Shane Eiserman, Patrick Gaul and Grant Besse each getting on the board, while goaltender Adam Morrison turned aside 14 shots to earn a win in between the pipes.

Fioretti struck quickly to give SC an early lead just 1:16 into the contest with a wrist shot that got by Atlanta goaltender Miroslav Svoboda to make it 1-0. Assists came from Jonathan Charbonneau and Eiserman, who got credit for his first point with SC in his first shift with the team after being dealt to the Rays by Atlanta earlier this week.

Minutes later, Eiserman continued to make a good first impression by banging home a loose rebound in the Gladiators’ crease for his first goal as a Stingray at 3:54 of the opening frame. Assists on the play went to Besse and forward Matt Pohlkamp.

Gaul added his first goal of the season at 9:56 to make it 3-0 South Carolina. The unassisted tally came shorthanded on a wrist shot from the top of the left circle in the offensive zone.

Atlanta got on the board and cut the score to 3-1 on a goal by Derek Nesbitt at 13:42 of the first period. When the opening period came to an end, the Stingrays had a 17-3 edge in shots on goal.

But Besse scored his 10th of the season at 9:03 of the second to give South Carolina their three-goal advantage back at 4-1. Andrew Cherniwchan had the lone assist on the strike, his 10th helper of 2018-19.

Jesse Gabrielle cut the lead to 4-2 with the Gladiators’ second goal of the night before the end of the second period at 15:25.

South Carolina’s defensive effort came to the forefront in the third period when, up by two goals, the Rays held Atlanta off the board and allowed just six shots on net.

Svoboda played the first two periods and finished with 27 saves, while Glads’ backup goaltender Colton Phinney came in for the third period and stopped eight shots. The Stingrays had a 39-16 advantage in shots on goal during the game and also scored the only power play goal of the night during the first period. SC finished 1-for-4 on the man-advantage, while Atlanta, who entered the night as the third-best power play unit in the ECHL, went 0-for-2.

South Carolina is back home on Friday night to play the Florida Everblades at the North Charleston Coliseum at 7:05 p.m. The Stingrays will also host Marvel Super Hero Night on Saturday against the Wheeling Nailers at 7:05. The first 2,500 fans through the door receive a Black Panther Banner and parking will be free that night!

Tickets are on sale now! For more information or to purchase, contact the Stingrays by phone at 843-744-2248 or visit 3300 W. Montague Ave. Suite A-200 during business hours.