Stingrays Weekly Report - December 24

The South Carolina Stingrays picked up five points in four games on the road last week and hit the ECHL’s holiday break with a hold of second place in the South Division with a total of 37 accumulated points in the standings. South Carolina has taken points from eight of their last nine contests, going 7-1-1 since Dec. 7. The club has also improved its offensive performance as of late, scoring a total of 21 goals in their last five games. With power play goals in all four of their road games during the past week, the Stingrays have now converted on the man-advantage in nine straight contests, moving into 5th in the league’s power play rankings at 19.5%. South Carolina’s home power play conversion rate is No. 1 in the ECHL at 25.9%.

With time off during the coming week, the Stingrays have a lighter schedule than normal, hosting just one game Friday against the Norfolk Admirals. South Carolina and Norfolk met three times in October earlier this season, with the Rays going 1-2-0 on the road in the trio of contests at the Norfolk Scope. 

STINGRAYS RECORD: 18-12-1-0LAST WEEK: 2-1-1-0MONDAY: SOUTH CAROLINA STINGRAYS 5, ORLANDO SOLAR BEARS 2(Amway Center – Orlando, FL)Goaltender Angus Redmond stopped 29 shots to pick up a victory in his first appearance with the South Carolina Stingrays and helped run the team’s season-high winning streak to six games with a 5-2 defeat of the Orlando Solar Bears at the Amway Center on Monday night. Andrew Cherniwchan scored twice in the contest for the Stingrays, while Shane Eiserman had a goal and an assist and both Joey Leach and Jonathan Charbonneau addesd two helpers.WEDNESDAY: JACKSONVILLE ICEMEN 6, SOUTH CAROLINA STINGRAYS 4(Veterans Memorial Arena – Jacksonville, FL)The South Carolina Stingrays were unable to climb out of a hole after falling behind in the first period and had their six-game win streak halted with a 6-4 loss to the Jacksonville Icemen at the Veterans Memorial Arena on Wednesday night. Three Stingrays’ forwards had multi-point nights in a losing effort as Sam Fioretti, Jonathan Charbonneau and Christian Horn each picked up a goal and an assist. Goaltender Gordon Defiel came on in relief and finished with 14 saves, allowing just one goal in over 26 minutes of play to help keep South Carolina in the game.FRIDAY: SOUTH CAROLINA STINGRAYS 4, GREENVILLE SWAMP RABBITS 3(Bon Secours Wellness Arena – Greenville, SC)Despite being outshot by a wide margin, the South Carolina Stingrays defeated the Greenville Swamp Rabbits 4-3 on Friday night at the Bon Secours Wellness Arena behind 38 saves from goaltender Gordon Defiel. The Stingrays got their third victory in four meetings with the Swamp Rabbits this season, and their seventh win in their last eight outings overall. South Carolina had four skaters with multi-point games, including forwards Sam Fioretti and Shane Eiserman who each registered a goal and an assist, as well as forward Tad Kozun and defender Kevin McKernan, who both had two assists.SATURDAY: GREENVILLE SWAMP RABBITS 4, SOUTH CAROLINA STINGRAYS 3 OT(Bon Secours Wellness Arena – Greenville, SC)The South Carolina Stingrays came all the way back from a three-goal deficit late in the third period, but Greenville Swamp Rabbits’ forward Johno May scored his second goal of the game in overtime to give his team a 4-3 decision on Saturday night at the Bon Secours Wellness Arena. The Rays’ third period comeback was led by forwards Andrew Cherniwchan and Tad Kozun, who both registered points on all three of the club’s tallies to even the game. Each had a goal and two assists, while Kevin McKernan scored the equalizer with less than three minutes to play in regulation.

THIS WEEKFriday, December 28 – vs. Norfolk Admirals, 7:05 p.m. (North Charleston Coliseum)STINGRAYS LEADERSGoals: 15 – Andrew CherniwchanAssists: 21 – Jonathan CharbonneauPoints: 34 – Andrew CherniwchanPlus/Minus: Plus-10 – Kevin McKernanPenalty Minutes: 53 – Joey Leach*Shots On Goal: 119 – Andrew CherniwchanWins: 8 – Parker MilnerGoals Against Average: 2.47 – Gordon DefielSave Percentage: 0.914 – Gordon Defiel*Currently in the AHLCHERNIWCHAN’S POINT STREAK REACHES 9 GAMESForward Andrew Cherniwchan continued his torrid scoring pace last week, scoring in each of South Carolina’s four games while posting a total of seven points with five goals and two assists. The seventh-year forward has now scored a point in nine consecutive games and has been on the scoresheet in 11 of his last 12 contests. The Northern Michigan University alum has established new ECHL career-highs in points (34) and goals (15). Cherniwchan’s 34 points and 119 shots on goal both rank third among all ECHL skaters this season, while his 62 all-time goals scored with South Carolina is now tied for 17th in Stingrays history with former forwards Travis Morin and Rob Ricci.

CHARBONNEAU AMONG THE ECHL’S TOP ROOKIESForward Jonathan Charbonneau scored a goal 24 seconds into Friday’s win over Greenville, his second straight game with a tally. The rookie is second on the team in scoring this season with 29 points (8g, 21a). A recent graduate of Mercyhurst University, Charbonneau is tied for 13th in overall ECHL scoring, but is also among the leaders in many rookie categories including 2nd in scoring, 2nd in assists, 4th in power play assists (9), 3rd in power play points (13) and first in shots (98).

EISERMAN SCORING IN BUNCHESSince being dealt to the Stingrays by the Atlanta Gladiators, rookie forward Shane Eiserman has posted a total of six multipoint games including two-point nights in three of the team’s four outings last week. Eiserman had a goal and an assist in Orlando on Monday, two assists in Jacksonville on Wednesday, and another goal and assist in Greenville Friday evening that included the game-winning tally in the second period. The Newburyport, Mass. native is in his first pro season after playing collegiately at the University of New Hampshire and has 20 points (8g, 12a) in his first 22 pro games.STINGRAYS SIGN FORMER NHL FORWARD JOSH GRATTONThe Stingrays announced the signing of forward Josh Gratton Saturday, who brings 86 games of NHL experience to the roster. Gratton suited up for 64 games with the Phoenix Coyotes from 2005-08 as well as 22 contests with the Philadelphia Flyers in 2005-06 and 2008-09. He also has 280 games of experience at the AHL level, scoring 86 points on 41 goals and 45 assists with seven different teams. A native of Brantford, Ont., Gratton won two AHL Calder Cup Championships with the Philadelphia Phantoms in 2004-05 and also during his most recent AHL stint with the Manchester Monarchs in 2014-15. Gratton is currently in his 16th professional season, beginning the 2018-19 year overseas with the Glasgow Clan in the EIHL (Elite Ice Hockey League) where he scored 23 points (10 goals, 13 assists) in 23 games. His previous experience overseas includes 81 games in the KHL and last season Gratton suited up for 22 games with Epinal in France, and played three games with HC Nove Zamky in Slovakia.​​​​​​​Tickets are on sale now! To bring your group to the game and save, call the Stingrays Front Office during business hours at 843-744-2248! For single game tickets, visit ticketmaster.com.