The South Carolina Stingrays finished their 7-game road trip last week by securing six points in a total of four games away from North Charleston. The Rays have the best winning percentage in the ECHL at 0.850 and their 34 points are tied for second-most in the ECHL. South Carolina has secured points in 12 straight road games overall and is 12-1-2 away from North Charleston this season. The club’s team defense has also been outstanding this season, allowing an ECHL-best 2.15 goals per contest while posting a total of five shutouts.
This week South Carolina is back at home for the first time since November 19 when they host the Orlando Solar Bears on Tuesday, Greenville Swamp Rabbits on Saturday and Jacksonville Icemen on Sunday. The Rays also have a quick trip up to Norfolk on Friday for a 7:30 p.m. matchup against the Admirals.
STINGRAYS RECORD: 16-2-2-0LAST WEEK: 2-0-2-0
MONDAY: ORLANDO SOLAR BEARS 4, SOUTH CAROLINA STINGRAYS 3 OT(Amway Center – Orlando, FL)Despite getting out to an early first period lead, the South Carolina Stingrays fell short to the Orlando Solar Bears in overtime on Monday night by a final score of 4-3 at the Amway Center. South Carolina goals were scored by defenseman Jordan Klimek as well as forwards Andrew Cherniwchan and Jonathan Charbonneau, while forward Cole Ully picked up two assists.
WEDNESDAY: SOUTH CAROLINA STINGRAYS 5, ATLANTA GLADIATORS 3(Infinite Energy Center – Duluth, GA)The South Carolina Stingrays scored four straight goals to dig themselves out of an early hole and earn their league-leading 11th road win of the season with a 5-3 defeat of the Atlanta Gladiators on Wednesday night at the Infinite Energy Center. South Carolina forward Cole Ully scored back-to-back tallies early on in the middle frame, while team captain Andrew Cherniwchan had a goal and an assist and forward Mark Cooper added two helpers. Goaltender Logan Thompson made 33 saves to pick up his seventh victory of the year.
FRIDAY: SOUTH CAROLINA STINGRAYS 2, FLORIDA EVERBLADES 0(Hertz Arena – Estero, FL)The South Carolina Stingrays allowed just 22 shots on goal to the Florida Everblades Friday night and goaltender Parker Milner stopped all of them to earn his fourth shutout of the season in a 2-0 victory at Hertz Arena. Forward Matthew Weis led the way with a goal and an assist in the contest, while forward Mark Cooper scored a third period power play goal.
SATURDAY: FLORIDA EVERBLADES 3, SOUTH CAROLINA STINGRAYS 2(Hertz Arena – Estero, FL)The Florida Everblades scored twice in the final three minutes of regulation to force overtime before finding the winner late in the extra session to sneak past the South Carolina Stingrays by a score of 3-2 on Saturday night at Hertz Arena. Stingrays goals came from captain Andrew Cherniwchan and forward Dan DeSalvo in the third period, while goaltender Logan Thompson held off the Florida attack for most of the game by turning away 41 shots.THIS WEEKTuesday, December 10 – vs. Orlando Solar Bears, 7 p.m. (North Charleston Coliseum)Friday, December 13 – at Norfolk Admirals, 7:30 p.m. (Norfolk Scope)Saturday, December 14 – vs. Greenville Swamp Rabbits, 6:05 p.m. (North Charleston Coliseum)Sunday, December 15 – vs. Jacksonville Icemen, 3:05 p.m. (North Charleston Coliseum)STINGRAYS LEADERSGoals: 10 – Andrew CherniwchanAssists: 16 – Dan DeSalvoPoints: 21 – Andrew Cherniwchan, Dan DeSalvoPlus/Minus: Plus-14 – Andrew CherniwchanPenalty Minutes: 19 – Mark CooperShots On Goal: 74 – Mark CooperWins: 8 – Parker MilnerGoals Against Average: 1.43 – Parker MilnerSave Percentage: 0.945 – Parker MilnerMILNER’S SCINTILLATING STARTGoaltender Parker Milner continued his outstanding 2019-20 season Friday night by turning aside all 22 Florida shots on his way to a league-leading fourth shutout performance of the year. The Pittsburgh native improved his record to 8-1-1 and is also leading the ECHL with a 1.43 goals-against average along with a 0.945 save percentage.COOPER MAKING A DIFFERENCEForward Mark Cooper was on a five-game point streak last week after netting a power play goal on Friday to increase his season point total to 20. On Wednesday Cooper picked up a pair of assists in a 5-3 win over Atlanta. Prior to that, the Toronto native had assists in each game aginst Orlando last week and scored two goals in Florida on Nov. 23. Cooper has been on the scoresheet in 11 of the team’s last 14 games and has also scored goals in four of the five Stingrays home games this year.
TIE ATOP TEAM SCORING RACEForwards Andrew Cherniwchan and Dan DeSalvo are currently tied for the team lead in scoring, each posting a total of 21 points while playing in all of South Carolina’s 20 games this season. The two attackers each scored goals in Saturday night’s game in Florida after also both posting a point in Friday night’s victory. Cherniwchan has 10 goals and 11 assists this season, while DeSalvo has racked up a team-high 16 helpers.ULLY STEPS UPForward Cole Ully had a big start to the week last Monday, posting two assists in Orlando. He then scored twice in the second period of Wednesday's game in Atlanta. Ully also added an assist in Saturday's game in Florida and finished the week with five points on two goals and three assists. This season, the Calgary, Alberta native has 18 points in 20 games on five goals and 13 assists.
—Tickets for all of the team’s upcoming 2019-20 home contests are on sale now via Ticketmaster.
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