Stingrays Weekly Report - March 4

The South Carolina Stingrays will make their only northern road trip of the season this weekend to face the Maine Mariners and the Worcester Railers for three games in three days. On Friday and Saturday night, the Rays will face the Mariners for the first time ever during their inaugural ECHL season. The club will then travel to Worcester on Sunday for a matinee with the Railers that completes the trip. South Carolina is continuing their push towards the postseason and is currently in possession of fourth place in the ECHL’s South Division with 14 games remaining.

In their first matchups with Maine, the Stingrays will face a team that is also in the middle of a playoff race. The Mariners are tied for third place in the league’s North Division with 64 points in 58 games played. Earlier this year, the Rays were able to defeat Worcester by a score of 4-1 on Jan. 4 at the North Charleston Coliseum. The Railers are in sixth place in the North, five points out of a postseason spot.

STINGRAYS RECORD: 26-27-5-0LAST WEEK: 1-3-0-0 

TUESDAY: GREENVILLE SWAMP RABBITS 3, SOUTH CAROLINA STINGRAYS 2(North Charleston Coliseum – North Charleston, SC)In front of a crowd made up of mostly students Tuesday morning at the North Charleston Coliseum, the Greenville Swamp Rabbits got out to a two-goal advantage in the third and held on despite a late push from the South Carolina Stingrays for a 3-2 decision in the first game of a home-and-home series between the two teams this week. Forwards Patrick Gaul and Shane Eiserman scored for the Stingrays in the loss, while goaltender Parker Milner got the start and made 23 saves.

THURSDAY: GREENVILLE SWAMP RABBITS 2, SOUTH CAROLINA STINGRAYS 1(Bon Secours Wellness Arena – Greenville, SC)

The South Carolina Stingrays were unable to hold on to a one-goal advantage in the third period, allowing two even strength tallies to the Greenville Swamp Rabbits in a 2-1 loss at the Bon Secours Wellness Arena on Thursday night. Andrew Cherniwchan, who was playing in his 200th career ECHL game, scored the lone goal of the evening for South Carolina while goaltender Parker Milner made 31 saves in his 27th appearance of the year.

FRIDAY: SOUTH CAROLINA STINGRAYS 5, JACKSONVILLE ICEMEN 2(Veterans Memorial Arena – Jacksonville, FL)

Andrew Cherniwchan scored three times and Jonathan Charbonneau had three assists as the South Carolina Stingrays came from behind in the third period to defeat the Jacksonville Icemen for the first time at the Veterans Memorial Arena in their final regular season game in the building by a score of 5-2 on Friday night. Rays’ netminder Parker Milner earned the win in between the pipes by stopping 30 shots in the game, while forward Grant Besse added a goal and an assist and defender Tim Davison picked up two helpers in South Carolina’s second win over the Icemen this season.

SATURDAY: JACKSONVILLE ICEMEN 3, SOUTH CAROLINA STINGRAYS 1(North Charleston Coliseum – North Charleston, SC)

In front of a crowd of 7,296 for the team’s annual Pink In The Rink Night on Saturday at the North Charleston Coliseum, the Jacksonville Icemen (30-24-2-2) defeated the South Carolina Stingrays (26-27-5-0) by a final score of 3-1. Forward Andrew Cherniwchan scored the lone goal for the Rays, his fifth tally in the club’s last three games. Goaltender Parker Milner started for the third consecutive day and made 20 saves in a losing effort.

THIS WEEKFriday, March 8 – at Maine Mariners, 7:15 p.m. (Cross Insurance Arena)Saturday, March 9 – at Maine Mariners, 6 p.m. (Cross Insurance Arena)Sunday, March 10 – at Worcester Railers, 3:05 p.m. (DCU Center)STINGRAYS LEADERSGoals: 25 – Grant Besse, Andrew CherniwchanAssists: 32 – Andrew CherniwchanPoints: 57 – Andrew CherniwchanPlus/Minus: Plus-8 – Joey Leach*Penalty Minutes: 95 – Andrew CherniwchanShots On Goal: 212 – Grant BesseWins: 12 – Parker MilnerGoals Against Average: 2.85 – Adam MorrisonSave Percentage: 0.908 – Parker Milner(* - in the American Hockey League)

CHERNIWCHAN RECORDS RAYS’ FIRST HAT TRICKForward Andrew Cherniwchan had five goals last week including his first career hat trick in a road win at Jacksonville on Friday night. Despite scoring 97 goals in 375 professional games at the AHL and ECHL level, Cherniwchan had never accomplished the feat of scoring three times in one game. The Northern Michigan University grad is currently ninth in the ECHL in overall scoring this year with 57 points in 58 games on 25 goals and 32 assists. His goal total is also tied for ninth-best in the ECHL, and has him even with linemate Grant Besse for the team lead.

CHARBONNEAU DISHING OUT HELPERSForward Jonathan Charbonneau had four assists in four games last week and has reached the 40-point mark for the season on 11 goals and 29 assists in 46 games. The forward has points in six of his last eight games, totaling two goals and seven assists. A graduate of Mercyhurst University, Charbonneau has also posted four power play goals this season for the Rays.

MILNER MAKING UP FOR LOST TIMEGoaltender Parker Milner played in all of the team's four games last week, including three starts in three days from Thursday thru Saturday. It was the first time in his six year professional career that Milner had started all games of a three-in-three. In a league-high 236 minutes in net last week, Milner had 104 saves, a GAA at 2.54 and a 0.912 save percentage.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.