Stingrays Weekly Report - February 8

The South Carolina Stingrays are set for their busiest week of the season to date, scheduled to play four home games in North Charleston during a span of five days beginning Wednesday when they open a 3-game series with the Florida Everblades. SC had three different results last week, picking up a win over Greenville on Wednesday before an overtime loss to the Swamp Rabbits Thursday and a regulation loss to Jacksonville on Friday night. Overall, the Rays continue to hold third place in the ECHL’s Eastern Conference after 17 games with a record of 9-4-4 and a points percentage at 0.647.

South Carolina split their two prior meetings with the Everblades last month in Estero, winning 4-1 on Jan. 30 before falling by a score of 5-1 the following night. The Stingrays will also have an opportunity to exact revenge when they host the Jacksonville Icemen on Sunday afternoon. SC fell to Jacksonville on Friday for the first time during 2020-21 after claiming wins in the first three meetings between the two clubs this season.

STINGRAYS RECORD:9-4-4-0LAST WEEK: 1-1-1-0

WEDNESDAY: SOUTH CAROLINA STINGRAYS 2, GREENVILLE SWAMP RABBITS 0(North Charleston Coliseum – North Charleston, SC)Goaltender Jake Kupsky earned his first ECHL shutout with 20 saves to lead the South Carolina Stingrays past the Greenville Swamp Rabbits by a final score of 2-0 on Wednesday night at the North Charleston Coliseum. Forward Tim Harrison and defender Jesse Lees scored their first goals of the season in the victory for South Carolina, as the Rays earned their third win of the 2020-21 season over Greenville.

THURSDAY: GREENVILLE SWAMP RABBITS 4, SOUTH CAROLINA STINGRAYS 3 OT(Bon Secours Wellness Arena – Greenville, SC)The South Carolina Stingrays took a 2-0 lead in the second period Thursday night on the road at the Bon Secours Wellness Arena, but the Greenville Swamp Rabbits battled back to earn a 4-3 win in overtime in the sixth game between the two teams to need extra time this season. Forward Dan DeSalvo led the way for South Carolina in a losing effort, scoring twice, while Mark Cooper picked up two assists and goaltender Jake Kupsky made 37 saves in his fifth consecutive start in between the pipes for the Rays.

FRIDAY: JACKSONVILLE ICEMEN 4, SOUTH CAROLINA STINGRAYS 1(North Charleston Coliseum – North Charleston, SC)The South Carolina Stingrays fell behind early and were unable to fight their way back, coming up short to the Jacksonville Icemen by a score of 4-1 on Friday night at the North Charleston Coliseum. Forward Nick Saracino led the charge for Jacksonville, scoring twice, while Brett Supinski netted the lone goal for SC. Goaltender Craig Pantano made 23 saves in a losing effort in his first ECHL start.THIS WEEKWednesday, February 10 – vs. Florida Everblades, 7:05 p.m. (North Charleston Coliseum)Friday, February 12 – vs. Florida Everblades, 7:05 p.m. (North Charleston Coliseum)Saturday, February 13 – vs. Florida Everblades, 6:05 p.m. (North Charleston Coliseum)Sunday, February 14 – vs. Jacksonville Icemen, 3:05 p.m. (North Charleston Coliseum)STINGRAYS LEADERSGoals: 5 – Dylan Steman, Cole UllyAssists: 11 – Max NovakPoints: 12 – Max NovakPlus/Minus: Plus-9 – Max NovakPenalty Minutes: 42 – Cole FraserShots On Goal: 43 – Max GottliebWins: 4 – Alex Dubeau*Goals Against Average: 2.07 – Hunter ShepardSave Percentage: 0.928 – Hunter Shepard* - In The AHLFAST STARTS MEAN GOOD NEWSThe Stingrays have fared well when scoring the first goal this season, earning an 8-1-2 record when striking first. SC has found the opening goal in 11 of their 17 outings this year which has helped them secure 18 of their 22 points in the standings.

SUPINSKI STANDING OUTForward Brett Supinski continued his offensive success last week and now has points in five of his last six games. In the Rays’ three games last week, the Collegeville, Pa. native had three points on a goal and two assists. Supinski has now posted points in five straight road games dating back to Jan. 2 and has an overall total of nine points in 13 games this season on four goals and five assists.

KUPSKY SHOWS OFF HIS STAMINAPrior to Friday’s game, goaltender Jake Kupsky had played every second for the Stingrays in the team’s last five outings, a streak of 303 straight minutes played. His best performance of the five came on Wednesday when he was perfect with 20 saves in a 2-0 shutout win over Greenville. The week prior, the netminder started all three of SC’s contests in the Sunshine State on three consecutive days, totaling 96 saves. Most recently he helped SC pick up a point during Thursday’s game in Greenville, stopping 37 shots.

DESALVO STRIKES TWICEForward Dan DeSalvo scored twice for South Carolina on Thursday night in Greenville, doubling his goal total on the season from two to four. The Rolling Meadows, Ill. native netted the first goal of the game by converting on a 2-on-1 opportunity in the second period, and then gave SC a 3-2 lead in the third when he capitalized on a turnover by the Swamp Rabbits in their own end. An alumnus of Bowling Green State University, DeSalvo added an assist on Brett Supinski’s goal Friday and now has eight points in 15 games this season on four goals and four helpers.

—Tickets for all of the team’s upcoming 2020-21 home contests are on sale now via Ticketmaster.

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