Stingrays Weekly Report - November 5

The South Carolina Stingrays used their high-powered offense and timely goaltending by Adam Morrison to earn a sweep of a two-game weekend series in Allen against the Americans last week. In the first-ever regular season games between the two teams, the Stingrays’ top line of Grant Besse, Andrew Cherniwchan and Jonathan Charbonneau combined for a total of 15 points, leading the club to back-to-back victories. The two wins gave South Carolina 12 points in the standings this season, which has them tied for first place in the ECHL’s South Division after 10 games played.

This week, the Stingrays travel to Jacksonville for a morning school day game at 10:30 a.m. on Thursday morning before returning home to host Orlando on Saturday night in North Charleston. SC and Jacksonville are tied at the top of the division standings, while the Solar Bears sit just one point back.

STINGRAYS RECORD: 6-4-0-0LAST WEEK: 2-0-0-0FRIDAY: SOUTH CAROLINA STINGRAYS 5, ALLEN AMERICANS 4(Allen Event Center – Allen, TX)The South Carolina Stingrays erased an early three-goal hole by scoring five straight and held on to defeat the Allen Americans by a final score of 5-4 on Friday night at the Allen Event Center. Forward Grant Besse led the way with a four-point night by scoring two goals and assisting on two others, while Andrew Cherniwchan picked up a goal and two assists and Sam Fioretti added two helpers.

SATURDAY: SOUTH CAROLINA STINGRAYS 4, ALLEN AMERICANS 1(Allen Event Center – Allen, TX)The South Carolina Stingrays scored two goals in the first period and added two more in the third to defeat the Allen Americans 4-1 Saturday night and finish off a sweep of the teams’ weekend series at the Allen Event Center. Forward Jonathan Charbonneau led the way for the Rays with a goal and two assists, while his linemates Andrew Cherniwchan and Grant Besse each extended their point streaks to seven and four games respectively, both scoring goals in South Carolina’s victory.

THIS WEEKThursday, November 8 – at Jacksonville Icemen, 10:30 a.m. (Veterans Memorial Arena)Saturday, November 10 – vs. Orlando Solar Bears, 7:05 p.m. (North Charleston Coliseum)STINGRAYS LEADERSGoals: 8 – Grant BesseAssists: 9 – Grant BessePoints: 17 – Grant BessePlus/Minus: Plus-12 – Kevin McKernanPenalty Minutes: 38 – Marcus PerrierShots On Goal: 53 – Grant BesseWins: 3 – Adam Morrison, Parker MilnerGoals Against Average: 2.82 – Adam MorrisonSave Percentage: 0.890 – Adam MorrisonBESSE MOVES TO THE TOP OF THE HILLForward Grant Besse had another big weekend in Allen for the Rays, scoring six points (3g, 3a) in the two wins over the Americans. The Plymouth, Minn. native is now tied for the ECHL league lead in scoring with 17 points (8g, 9a) in 10 contests this season. His eight goals are also tied for second in the league, while his 53 shots on goal are the most of any ECHL skater.

CHERNIWCHAN CONTINUES POINT STREAKForward Andrew Cherniwchan extended his season-high point streak to seven games last week with multi-point performances in both wins over Allen. He also has an active goal-scoring streak of four games. The Hinton, Alta. native had a goal and two assists on Friday, before adding another goal and an assist in Saturday’s victory. Cherniwchan now has a total of 14 points (6g, 8a) on the season, which is fourth-best in the ECHL.

MCKERNAN TAKES OVER LEAGUE’S PLUS-MINUS LEADRookie defender Kevin McKernan is now has the best plus-minus rating in the ECHL at +12 after South Carolina’s first 10 games. His eight points (2g, 6a) from the blue line are also third-most among all league defenders. McKernan also leads all defensemen in shooting percentage, scoring twice on just six shots on net this season.

STINGRAYS CONTINUING TO IMPRESS OFFENSIVELYSouth Carolina has continued to show promise on the offensive side of the puck, having scored an average of 3.9 goals per game, which is second-best in the ECHL. The team has also piled up an average of 35.20 shots on goal per game, which ranks fifth in the league.Single-game tickets for all games during the 2018-19 season are on sale now at the North Charleston Coliseum Box Office and ticketmaster.com.

Groups of 10 or more feature discounted pricing and great benefits! For more information or to place an order call the Stingrays front office at 843-744-2248 or stop by 3300 W. Montague Ave. Suite A-200 during business hours.