Stingrays Weekly Report - March 25

The South Carolina Stingrays are playing their best hockey at the right time, taking a 4-game winning streak into the penultimate week of the ECHL regular season. South Carolina earned six points last week with three wins in a span of five days. The team completed a sweep of Kansas City with victories on Tuesday and Friday nights in North Charleston, before knocking off Greenville in their final meeting of the year with the Swamp Rabbits Saturday. With their recent success, the Rays have opened up a two-point lead on the Atlanta Gladiators for fourth place and are just two points behind the Jacksonville Icemen who are sitting in third. The Stingrays have just four games remaining in their regular season schedule and will play two crucial contests this weekend at home against Orlando and Atlanta.

South Carolina has already seen the Solar Bears 10 times this season, posting a record of 6-4-0 against a team that is currently holding on to second place in the South Division. The Rays won their first six meetings against the Gladiators this year, but have recently struggled against Atlanta, going 1-3-1 in their last five head-to-head matchups. The two teams also play twice on the final weekend of the season with a home-and-home series to end the year April 6-7.

STINGRAYS RECORD: 32-30-5-1LAST WEEK: 3-0-0-0TUESDAY: SOUTH CAROLINA STINGRAYS 4, KANSAS CITY MAVERICKS 2(North Charleston Coliseum – North Charleston, SC)The South Carolina Stingrays scored four times in the second half of the first period to get out in front and skated to a 4-2 victory over the Kansas City Mavericks Tuesday night at the North Charleston Coliseum. Forwards Jordan Samuels-Thomas was named the first star after scoring a goal and an assist while putting eight shots on net and forward Tim Harrison also chipped in with three assists. The Rays outshot Kansas City 44-33 in the game and goaltender Parker Milner earned the victory in between the pipes, turning aside 31 shots that came his way.FRIDAY: SOUTH CAROLINA STINGRAYS 5, KANSAS CITY MAVERICKS 3(North Charleston Coliseum – North Charleston, SC)Stephane Legault scored twice in his pro debut and Jonathan Charbonneau added two power play goals as the South Carolina Stingrays completed a two-game sweep of the Kansas City Mavericks with a 5-3 win on Friday night at the North Charleston Coliseum. Goaltender Parker Milner has been in net for SC during all three recent wins and picked up his 16th victory of the season on Friday with 30 saves. The Stingrays outshot Kansas City for the second consecutive game, posting a 45-33 shots-on-goal advantage.

SATURDAY: SOUTH CAROLINA STINGRAYS 7, GREENVILLE SWAMP RABBITS 2(Bon Secours Wellness Arena – Greenville, SC)Highlighted by a natural hat trick from forward Cam Askew, the South Carolina Stingrays broke out for seven goals Saturday night, taking care of the Greenville Swamp Rabbits by a final score of 7-2 at the Bon Secours Wellness Arena. A total of eight Stingrays skaters recorded multiple points in the contest, including Mason Mitchell, Grant Besse, Ryker Killins and Stephane Legault who each scored a goal and an assist. Goaltender Adam Morrison earned the victory with a total of 32 saves in the game.

THIS WEEKFriday, March 30 –  vs. Orlando Solar Bears, 7:05 p.m. (North Charleston Coliseum)Saturday, March 31 – vs. Atlanta Gladiators, 3:05 p.m. (North Charleston Coliseum)STINGRAYS LEADERSGoals: 29 – Grant BesseAssists: 37 – Andrew CherniwchanPoints: 64 – Andrew CherniwchanPlus/Minus: Plus-10 – Joey LeachPenalty Minutes: 119 – Josh GrattonShots On Goal: 248 – Grant BesseWins: 16 – Parker MilnerGoals Against Average: 2.87 – Adam MorrisonSave Percentage: 0.909 – Parker Milner

ASKEW CATCHES FIRERookie forward Cam Askew totaled four points in the last two games for SC, assisting on a goal by Stephane Legault Friday before posting a natural hat trick in Greenville on Saturday. The opening goal of the trick was Askew's first since Jan. 18, breaking a streak of 18 straight games without a strike. The Boston native now has 14 goals, which is fifth-most on the team this season.

SAMUELS-THOMAS PUTTING TOGETHER A STREAKForward Jordan Samuels-Thomas has the longest active assist streak in the ECHL at five games, dating back to March 16. In three games last week, the Quinnipiac University alum scored a team-high five points with a goal and four assists along with a +3 rating.

LEGAULT-ING FOR GOLDAfter signing with the team on Wednesday, forward Stephane Legault has made a huge impact right away. In just two games, he has a total of four points on three goals and an assist as well as a +4 rating. The rookie found the back of the net twice in his first professional game Friday in a win over KC.

HEATH STEPS RIGHT INWith his first six professional games behind him, defender Cameron Heath has accumulated a +6 rating, which is tied for third-highest on the Rays this season. The blueliner has made an immediate difference on the defensive side of the puck, helping the team in their own zone.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.