Goals from six different skaters gave the South Carolina Stingrays (10-1-0-0) their seventh consecutive win on Hockey Fights Cancer Night Saturday at the North Charleston Coliseum, a 6-2 defeat of the Norfolk Admirals (2-10-3-0).
The Stingrays also had six skaters with multi-point efforts, including four who had a goal and an assist in Max Novak, Mark Cooper, Mitch Vanderlaan and Captain Andrew Cherniwchan. Forwards Jonathan Charbonneau and Dan DeSalvo each had a pair of assists in the victory. Goaltender Logan Thompson got the start in net for the second consecutive night for the Rays and picked up his fifth win of the season with 29 saves.
Norfolk took an early 1-0 lead on a goal by Ryan Salkeld at 9:06 of the first. But the Rays responded and never took their foot off the gas pedal, scoring the next five goals in the game.
SC tied things up at 1-1 when Novak struck for his third goal of the season while on the power play at 11:14 of the first. Assists on the tally went to Cooper and Vanderlaan.
Before the end of the frame, Cooper scored his fifth of the season after DeSalvo dislodged a puck that was stuck in the equipment of Norfolk’s Brandon Rumble. He then fed it over to Cherniwchan before Cooper grabbed the biscuit and swept it past goaltender Brandon Halverson and into the net to make it 2-1 at 15:52.
Early on in the second, Charbonneau stole the puck at the top of the SC zone and rushed in on a 2-on-1 with Vanderlaan. Charbonneau slid a pass over to Vanderlaan, who beat Halverson up high with a quick shot over the blocker to make it 3-1 at 2:25 of the middle frame.
Cam Askew added to the lead and made it a 4-1 score at 10:18 of the second with his second goal of the season from Charbonneau and Jordan Klimek.
Then Jaynen Rissling got in on the party with his first goal of the season from Novak and DeSalvo at 4:10 of the third period to extend the lead to 5-1.
After a Norfolk tally by Philippe Hudon at 13:03 of the third, Cherniwchan added the sixth goal of the night for the Rays, scoring off a breakaway after a pass by forward Cole Ully. Cherniwchan, who was playing in his 400th professional game, made a deke and sent the puck into the back of the net for his fourth goal of the season.
Halverson stopped 27 shots for Norfolk in the contest. South Carolina had the lone power play goal of the game, going 1-for-3 on the man-advantage while holding the Admirals scoreless on the power play at 0-for-3. The Stingrays led Norfolk in shots on goal by a 33-31 margin.
NEXT GAMESouth Carolina and Norfolk are back at it at the North Charleston Coliseum on Sunday afternoon at 3:05 p.m.
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