6 Different Scorers Give Stingrays Win Over Florida

The South Carolina Stingrays (29-30-5-1) got goals from six different skaters and held off a late charge by the Florida Everblades (45-16-5-0) to secure a 6-4 victory on Sunday afternoon at the North Charleston Coliseum.

Forward Jonathan Charbonneau led the way with a goal and two assists, while defender Ryker Killins scored a goal and an assist and forward Grant Besse added two helpers. Goaltender Parker Milner earned the win with  28 saves in the contest for South Carolina, including 16 in the third period.

Florida scored the first goal of the game at 3:08 of the first period when Blake Winiecki converted on a breakaway while the Stingrays were on a power play. The attacker’s initial shot was stopped by Milner, but he finished the play by putting home his own rebound.

After going down 1-0, South Carolina controlled the remainder of the opening frame. The Rays outshot the Everblades 12-5 in the first stanza and added two goals to take a lead they would never relinquish. At 14:14, forward Patrick Megannety capitalized on a chance from the right circle, blasting a shot past goaltender Callum Booth for his first tally of the season. His goal triggered the team’s Undie Sunday promotion, with fans tossing underwear on the ice after the goal to benefit One80 Place in Charleston. Assists on the play went to Besse and Charbonneau.

Forward Mason Mitchell put SC on top at 2-1 with his third goal in just his second ECHL game this season. The Calgary, Alberta native redirected a shot by Killins into the net at 16:03 of the first. A second assist was given to Tad Kozun on the play, who found Killins open in the slot for the chance.

Killins increased the lead to 3-1 at 1:38 of the middle frame, scoring his second goal of the season on a nice move down the right wing before shoving the puck underneath Booth. This time, it was Charbonneau and Jordan Samuels-Thomas who added helpers on the team’s third goal of the afternoon.

Later in the second Charbonneau knocked home a feed from defenseman Miles Liberati at 11:51 and South Carolina was on top 4-1. Besse was also credited with his second assist on the play.

But the Blades refused to go quietly, scoring twice before the end of the second period to cut the Rays’ lead down to one goal. Matt Finn converted on the power play at 13:29 to make it a 4-2 game, while Shane Walsh scored just over two minutes later at 15:40 to pull Florida within one at 4-3.

Early on in the third period, Josh Gratton gave South Carolina some breathing room when he launched a puck from the left wall past Booth’s glove and inside the right post for his fourth goal of the season at 2:14. The goal to make it 5-3 came with assists from forward Cam Askew and defenseman John MacLeod.

Florida got one closer at 18:43 of the third when Derek Sheppard scored during a power play in which the Blades also pulled Booth for an extra attacker.

The Stingrays kept the puck away from their own net and in the final seconds, Askew chipped the puck to Andrew Cherniwchan along the right wall, which freed up the forward for an empty net goal in the final second of the game. Defender Steve Johnson also assisted on the last strike of the game.

Booth finished the contest with 23 saves in a losing effort, while the Everblades outshot the Rays 32-29 overall in the game. Florida went 2-for-3 on the power play, while South Carolina finished at 0-for-5.

South Carolina remains tied with the Atlanta Gladiators for the fourth and final playoff spot in the South Division, each team having secured 64 points in the standings.

The Stingrays continue their homestand on Tuesday night when they welcome the Kansas City Mavericks to the North Charleston Coliseum for a 7:05 p.m. game. Tickets are on sale now!

To bring your group to the game, call the Stingrays Front Office at 843-744-2248! For single game tickets, visit ticketmaster.com.