Stingrays Weekly Report - March 11

With just 11 games remaining in the 2018-19 ECHL regular season, the South Carolina Stingrays are getting ready for an exciting 4-game stretch this week that begins with a battle in Atlanta against the Gladiators and ends at home with a 3-in-3 weekend in North Charleston. Last week’s three-game trip produced wins in two of the outings, resulting in a split of a two-game series with the Maine Mariners on Friday and Saturday before a shutout of the Worcester Railers by goaltender Parker Milner on Sunday afternoon. SC remains in fourth place in the ECHL’s South Division with a total of 61 points, two ahead of the Gladiators which gives extra meaning to the matchup Wednesday night.

Wednesday’s meeting is the 11th of the 2018-19 campaign between the Stingrays and Gladiators. South Carolina picked up wins in the first six contests, but Atlanta has secured two points in each of the last four as part of their recent resurgence in the standings. The Stingrays will welcome the Norfolk Admirals to the Coliseum on Friday before the division-leading Florida Everblades arrive for two contests on Saturday night and Sunday afternoon.

STINGRAYS RECORD: 28-28-5-0LAST WEEK: 2-1-0-0

FRIDAY: MAINE MARINERS 4, SOUTH CAROLINA STINGRAYS 1(Cross Insurance Arena – Portland, ME)The Maine Mariners scored three times in the second period and earned a victory over the South Carolina Stingrays 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.

SATURDAY: SOUTH CAROLINA STINGRAYS 2, MAINE MARINERS 1 OT(Cross Insurance Arena – Portland, ME)Sam Fioretti scored with 41 seconds remaining in overtime to give the South Carolina Stingrays a 2-1 win over the Maine Mariners during the home team’s Wild Blueberries Night Saturday at Cross Insurance Arena. In his first game since Nov. 16, goaltender Adam Morrison made 36 saves to pick up the victory for the Stingrays. Fioretti’s goal was his first since Dec. 21, snapping a 17-game drought at the perfect time to secure an extra point for SC in the standings.

SUNDAY: SOUTH CAROLINA STINGRAYS 2, WORCESTER RAILERS 0(DCU Center – Worcester, MA)Parker Milner helped the South Carolina Stingrays defeat the Worcester Railers by a score of 2-0 Sunday and give his team wins in two of three games on the weekend against North Division opponents with his first shutout of the season at the DCU Center. The former Boston College goaltender returned to Massachusetts and stopped a total of 33 shots to secure two points for South Carolina and keep the Rays in possession of fourth place in the South Division standings. In addition, forwards Tad Kozun (1 goal, 1 assist) and Cam Askew (2 assists) each recorded multi-point games for South Carolina in the victory.

THIS WEEKWednesday, March 13 – at Atlanta Gladiators, 7:35 p.m. (Infinite Energy Center)Friday, March 15 – vs. Norfolk Admirals, 7:05 p.m. (North Charleston Coliseum)Saturday, March 16 – vs. Florida Everblades, 7:05 p.m. (North Charleston Coliseum)Sunday, March 17 – vs. Florida Everblades, 3:05 p.m. (North Charleston Coliseum)STINGRAYS LEADERSGoals: 25 – Grant Besse, Andrew CherniwchanAssists: 34 – Andrew CherniwchanPoints: 58 – Andrew CherniwchanPlus/Minus: Plus-8 – Joey Leach*Penalty Minutes: 104 – Josh GrattonShots On Goal: 223 – Grant BesseWins: 13 – Parker MilnerGoals Against Average: 2.63 – Adam MorrisonSave Percentage: 0.911 – Parker Milner(* - in the American Hockey League)

KOZUN PACES OFFENSE IN WEEKEND UP NORTHForward Tad Kozun led the Rays on the scoresheet last week with four points in the team's three games against North Division opponents with a goal and three assists. He contributed one assist in each contest, and added his 14th tally of the season to give South Carolina some breathing room in the third period of Sunday afternoon’s 2-0 win over the Worcester Railers. Kozun is now one point short of the 40 mark for the season, posting a total of 39 points (14 goals, 25 assists).

KILLINS SCORES FIRST PRO GOALRookie defenseman Ryker Killins joined the club last week and scored his first professional goal in his third game during Sunday's win over Worcester. Killins, who recently finished his senior season at Ferris State University, appeared in all three contests for South Carolina over the weekend and posted a +1 rating and four penalty minutes to go along with his first career tally.

GOALTENDING TANDEM FINDS SUCCESSIn each of their wins over the weekend, the Stingrays got impressive performances from their goaltenders. First, Adam Morrison appeared in a game for the first time since Nov. 16 on Saturday and turned aside 36 shots in a 2-1 overtime win over Maine. The next afternoon Parker Milner earned his first shutout of the season, making 33 saves in a 2-0 victory at the hands of the Worcester Railers. Both netminders are on AHL contracts with the Hershey Bears this season.

CHARBONNEAU STAYS HOTForward Jonathan Charbonneau had three points in SC's three games last week on a goal and two assists. The former Mercyhurst University attacker has now registered 43 points on the season in 49 games and his assist total (30) ranks 7th among all ECHL rookies. The production continued last week after Charbonneau earned four assists in the team’s four prior games. He has now scored points in nine of his last 11 contests, totaling four goals and nine assists during that span.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, call the Stingrays front office at 843-744-2248.