Stingrays Weekly Report - March 8

A pair of home wins over the Jacksonville Icemen last week moved the South Carolina Stingrays ahead to fourth place in the Eastern Conference standings. This week, the Rays head south once again for three contests in the Sunshine State against Orlando and Florida. South Carolina has earned points from each of their last six road games, as well as seven of their last eight contests overall. After allowing the first goal in all three of their games against Jacksonville last week, the Stingrays will be looking to get on the board earlier as they have earned a 9-1-3 record when scoring first as well as a 6-1-0 record when leading after one period.

South Carolina’s week begins Tuesday night in Orlando for their second meeting of the season with the Solar Bears. The Rays came up short in their first matchup at the Amway Center on Jan. 31, losing 4-1. SC will then continue to Estero for two battles with the Everblades on Wednesday and Friday. While they have only won two of their previous eight meetings against Florida this season, the Stingrays secured points in all three of their most recent contests with their rivals on Feb. 24, 26 and 27.

STINGRAYS RECORD:12-9-6-2LAST WEEK: 2-1-0-0

WEDNESDAY: SOUTH CAROLINA STINGRAYS 2, JACKSONVILLE ICEMEN 1 SO(North Charleston Coliseum – North Charleston, SC)With some highlight-reel saves in the third period and a perfect record in extra time, goaltender Alex Dubeau led the South Carolina Stingrays past the Jacksonville Icemen 2-1 in a shootout Wednesday night at the North Charleston Coliseum. The Rays played into overtime for the sixth straight game and had it decided in a shootout for the fourth consecutive contest. Dubeau turned aside 32 shots in regulation and overtime, before stopping all three Jacksonville attempts in the shootout. Forward Brett Supinski scored the lone goal of regulation for SC, his seventh tally of the season.

FRIDAY: SOUTH CAROLINA STINGRAYS 5, JACKSONVILLE ICEMEN 3(North Charleston Coliseum – North Charleston, SC)Returning to the ice for the first time in nine weeks, goaltender Hunter Shepard stopped 40 shots and led the South Carolina Stingrays to their third straight win by a 5-3 score over the Jacksonville Icemen Friday night at the North Charleston Coliseum. Despite being outshot 43-16 in the contest, South Carolina struck five times, including four goals in the third period. Forward Max Novak assisted on four of the Stingrays’ five goals, while attackers Andrew Cherniwchan and Cole Ully each had a goal and an assist and second-year forward Dylan Steman earned two helpers.

SATURDAY: JACKSONVILLE ICEMEN 4, SOUTH CAROLINA STINGRAYS 2(North Charleston Coliseum – North Charleston, SC)Third period goals from forwards Matthew Weis and Justin Florek put the South Carolina Stingrays within striking distance of completing a comeback, but the team was unable to find an equalizer late in the game and suffered a 4-2 loss to the Jacksonville Icemen on Pink In The Rink Night Saturday at the North Charleston Coliseum. Jacksonville goaltender Kyle Keyser turned aside 25 shots to earn the win for the Icemen, while his counterpart Hunter Shepard finished with 23 saves for SC in a losing effort.THIS WEEKTuesday, March 9 – at Orlando Solar Bears, 7:00 p.m. (Amway Center)Wednesday, March 10 – at Florida Everblades, 7:30 p.m. (Hertz Arena)Friday, March 12 – at Florida Everblades, 7:30 p.m. (Hertz Arena)STINGRAYS LEADERSGoals: 12 – Cole UllyAssists: 21 – Max NovakPoints: 24 – Cole UllyPlus/Minus: Plus-9 – Max NovakPenalty Minutes: 87 – Cole FraserShots On Goal: 75 – Dan DeSalvoWins: 6 – Alex DubeauGoals Against Average: 2.36 – Hunter ShepardSave Percentage: 0.923 – Hunter Shepard

HOT COLEForward Cole Ully had points in all three of South Carolina's games last week, running his season-high point streak to five games. Ully had assists on Wednesday and Saturday, as well as a goal and an assist in Friday's 5-3 win. The Calgary, Alberta native leads the team with 24 points on 12 goals and 12 assists in 19 games played and is tied for 10th in the league in overall scoring. Ully’s 12 goals and 9th-best in the ECHL.

DUBEAU SAYS NOGoaltender Alex Dubeau had a big night on Wednesday, turning out 32 shots en route to a shootout win over Jacksonville. The netminder was perfect in the skill session for the second straight game, keeping all three of Jacksonville’s chances away from the net just as he did to Florida the previous Saturday. In nine ECHL appearances this season, Dubeau is unbeaten in regulation with a 6-0-3 record and has a goals-against average of 2.78 along with a 0.901 save percentage. The second-year pro also leads the league with three shootout wins this season.

NOVAK STAYS ON TRACKForward Max Novak had his second straight 4-assist week, registering all four helpers in Friday night's win over Jacksonville. The Oak Ridge, N.J. native is second in the ECHL with 21 assists in 27 games this season. Two of his helpers have come shorthanded, which is tied for first in the ECHL.

RAYS SECURING POINTS IN TIGHT GAMESSouth Carolina has earned points in all 14 of their one-goal games this season, holding a record of 6-0-6-2. Half of the team’s 12 wins have been one-goal games, while four of their six overtime losses have come at the hands of Greenville.

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

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