Mariners Keep Rays Quiet In Series Opener Friday Night

The Maine Mariners (33-25-1-1) scored three times in the second period and earned a victory over the South Carolina Stingrays (26-28-5-0) by a score of 4-1 on Friday night at the Cross Insurance Arena.

Jonathan Charbonneau scored the only tally of the night for the Stingrays, notching his 12th of the season in the defeat. Goaltender Parker Milner made the start for South Carolina and stopped 35 shots in a losing effort.

The Mariners took a 1-0 lead with a power play goal at 10:04 of the first period from Dillan Fox. Maine skated into the first intermission with a 15-11 advantage in shots on goal.

Three tallies in the middle frame opened up the lead for the Mariners at 4-0. The first two strikes in the second came from Dwyer Tschantz at 6:04 and 15:11, while Wade Murphy added another at 18:15. Maine continued to garner more of the chances, outshooting SC 12-6 in the period.

Charbonneau got the Rays on the board in the third with the team’s only goal of the contest at 12:20, a wrist shot up high past goaltender Connor LaCouvee. Forward Tad Kozun picked up the lone assist on the play for South Carolina.

The Rays had the edge in shots on goal in the final period, 20-12. In the contest, the Mariners had a 39-37 shots on goal advantage.

LaCouvee earned the victory for Maine in net, stopping 38 of South Carolina’s shots. The Mariners were 1-for-7 on the power play in the game, while the Stingrays came up empty at 0-for-4.

The two teams face-off once again on Saturday night in Portland at 6 p.m. The Stingrays return to the North Charleston Coliseum on March 15 to take on the Norfolk Admirals at 7:05 p.m. 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.