STINGRAYS WEEKLY REPORT: NOVEMBER 22, 2021

NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C. – The South Carolina Stingrays enter the week tied for seventh in the South Division after starting the season 5-5-0-0. The South is the tightest division in the ECHL, with the Rays only 7 points back of the top spot, a feat that is doable this week alone. The Stingrays were without some major players this last week, leading to defeats on the road last Wednesday against the Norfolk Admirals (3-0) and last Friday against the intra-state rival Greenville Swamp Rabbits (2-0).

This week the Stingrays will travel to Jacksonville to take on the Icemen on Tuesday before coming home on Friday to host the Greenville Swamp Rabbits. The Rays will then trade a home-and-home series with the Atlanta Gladiators, heading to Georgia on Saturday before returning home to Charleston on Sunday for the weekend finale. The Stingrays have won both of their season outings against the Icemen so far this season. South Carolina also has a record of 2-2-0 in four matches this year against the Swamp Rabbits and are 0-1 in the lone battle with Atlanta.

STINGRAYS RECORD:5-5-0-0LAST WEEK: 0-2-0-0

WEDNESDAY: NORFOLK ADMIRALS 3, SOUTH CAROLINA STINGRAYS 0(Norfolk Scope Arena – Norfolk, VA)

Despite the return of Hunter Shepard and his 31-save performance, the offense couldn’t get anything working and were shutout for the first time this season. The discipline of South Carolina showed through again on Wednesday, only taking two penalties, and killing off both Norfolk advantages.

FRIDAY: SOUTH GREENVILLE SWAMP RABBITS 2, SOUTH CAROLINA STINGRAYS 0(Bon Secours Wellness Arena – Greenville, SC)

For the second straight game, the offense was missing the presence of injured leaders, going scoreless on 27 shots. Ryan Bednard had a rebound performance turning back 34 shots and the penalty kill knocked off six of seven attempts in the contest while going scoreless on four advantages.

THIS WEEKTuesday, November 23 – at Jacksonville Icemen, 7 p.m. (VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena)Friday, November 26 – vs. Greenville Swamp Rabbits, 7:05 p.m. (North Charleston Coliseum)Saturday, November 27 – at Atlanta Gladiators, 7:30 p.m. (Gas South Arena)Sunday, November 28 – vs. Atlanta Gladiators, 3:05 p.m. (North Charleston Coliseum)

STINGRAYS LEADERSGoals: 4 – Justin FlorekAssists: 7 – Patrick HolwayPoints: 9 – Jordan SubbanPlus/Minus: Plus-4 – Jade MillerPenalty Minutes: 19 – Alex BrinkShots On Goal: 33 – Justin FlorekWins: 2 – Ryan Bednard & Hunter ShepardGoals Against Average: 1.92 – Cédrick AndréeSave Percentage: 0.947 – Cédrick Andrée

BEDNARD RETURNS TO FORM

Goaltender Ryan Bednard returned to top form in his performance against the Swamp Rabbits last week. Bednard started the season with a .947 save percentage in his first three appearances of the season, but hit a lull over the next two only saving 85.4% of the shots over the two starts. Last week, Bednard looked like himself again saving 34 of 36 shots on Friday night against his former team. The netminder still holds a .911 save percentage and 2.80 goals against average.

A SEASON OF STREAKS

It’s been a streaky start to the year for the South Carolina Stingrays through the first 10 games. The Rays began the year trading games with Greenville before going on a three-game win-streak against the Swamp Rabbits and Icemen. The Rays would then trade games with Atlanta and Orlando before going on their current three-game losing-streak.

OUT OF THE GATE HOT

The Stingrays have been one of the best teams when coming out of the gates this year for the opening period. South Carolina has outscored their opponents 13-5 (+8) through the first 10 games of the year, third best in the ECHL through this point. Their 13 goals scored in the opening frame is tied for 7th overall in the league.

PENALTY KILL SPECIALISTS

The penalty kill for the Stingrays has been lights out this year, killing penalties at a rate of 89.5%, second best in the league. Friday night, the Swamp Rabbits scored the first goal against the penalty kill unit in two weeks. The Stingrays went 11 straight penalty kills without giving up a goal during that stretch.

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