Stingrays Weekly Report: February 21, 2022

NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C. – The South Carolina Stingrays enter Monday as the seventh seed in the Southern Division after four games last week against the Greenville Swamp Rabbits, Florida Everblades, and Jacksonville Icemen. Four defensemen for the Rays netted goals including Jordan Subban, Chaz Reddekopp, Tariq Hammond, and Connor Moore. Lawton Courtnall shined as well with four points that includes his third multi-goal game of the season, and his first goal since January 2nd.

The Stingrays begin another four-game slate against the Greenville Swamp Rabbits this Wednesday on the road. The Stingrays and Swamp Rabbits battled last Tuesday and only have four more games against one another this season. Greenville had four games of their own and is coming off three straight losses to the Atlanta Gladiators. South Carolina is 5-4-2-0 against their interstate rivals this season. Following their matchup against Greenville, the Stingrays conclude their road trip against the Atlanta Gladiators on Thursday at the Gas South Arena. Atlanta is in third place in the South Division with 60 points and has a 19-7-1-0 record at home, but South Carolina has had the advantage this season, winning two of three matchups so far. The Stingrays finally return to the North Charleston Coliseum this weekend looking for their first win of the season series in back-to-back contests with the Florida Everblades.

STINGRAYS RECORD:16-26-5-0

LAST WEEK:0-3-1-0

WEDNESDAY: GREENVILLE SWAMP RABBITS 6, SOUTH CAROLINA STINGRAYS 2(North Charleston Coliseum - North Charleston, SC)

Greenville hopped out to an early lead, tallying the first three goals of the contest before Jordan Subban scored his first goal since November 26th and his fifth overall this season. The Rabbits would use three more goals to secure their win, but not without Chaz Reddekopp sniping his first of the season midway through the final frame in a 6-2 loss.

FRIDAY: FLORIDA EVERBLADES 4, SOUTH CAROLINA STINGRAYS 3 (OVERTIME)(Hertz Arena – Estero, FL)

The Blades took a lead late in the first period, but the Stingrays stormed back with two goals in the second frame, thanks to Jade Miller and Tariq Hammond. Florida would net two straight before Ryan Dmowski tied it again early in the third period. An overtime penalty proved costly for South Carolina, leading to a power play game-winner in OT for Florida.

SATURDAY: FLORIDA EVERBLADES 4, SOUTH CAROLINA STINGRAYS 3(Hertz Arena – Estero, FL)

Despite tallying three power play goals, the Stingrays could not overcome three unanswered goals from the Florida Everblades in a 4-3 defeat on Saturday. Connor Moore gave the Rays an early 1-0 lead on a one-timer from the left point before Florida evened the score in the second. Lawton Courtnall swept home another in the second to regain the lead, but Florida used three unanswered goals to take a 4-2 lead. Justin Florek added on in the third, but it was not enough to complete the comeback.

SUNDAY: JACKSONVILLE ICEMEN 5, SOUTH CAROLINA STINGRAYS 2(VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena – Jacksonville, FL)

Jacksonville used two first period goals to serve as the difference in a Sunday matinee in the Sunshine state. Lawton Courtnall recorded his third multi-goal game of the season, tallying both goals for the Stingrays in the loss. Penalties hurt South Carolina in the loss as the Rays gave up two power play goals with a third coming just as time expired.

THIS WEEKWednesday, February 23: at Greenville Swamp Rabbits, 7:05 p.m. (Bon Secours Wellness Arena)Thursday, February 24: at Atlanta Gladiators, 7:00 p.m. (Gas South Arena)Saturday, February 26: vs. Florida Everblades, 6:05 p.m. (North Charleston Coliseum)Sunday, February 27: vs. Florida Everblades, 3:05 p.m. (North Charleston Coliseum)

STINGRAYS LEADERSGoals: 16 – Andrew Cherniwchan Assists: 17 – Justin FlorekPoints: 31 – Justin FlorekPlus/Minus: Plus-2– Karl BoudriasPenalty Minutes: 103 – Nico BlachmanShots On Goal: 158 – Justin FlorekWins: 10 – Ryan BednardGoals Against Average: 3.05 – Logan FlodellSave Percentage: 0.908 – Hunter Shepard

SEEING REDDS Chaz Reddekopp returned to South Carolina on February 7th after spending over two months in Tucson with the Roadrunners. The 6-foot-4, 225-pound defender has been great in his comeback to the Lowcountry, playing top minutes and allowing his offense to show just as much as his defense. Reddekopp picked up his first tally of the year on Tuesday and added another assist on Courtnall’s first goal on Sunday.

LAY THE HAMMER DOWN Tariq Hammond returned to the squad last Thursday off his PTO with the Hershey Bears. The blueliner has been big defensively for the Rays, but his offensive production is advancing well. Through Hammond’s 32 games this season, he has eight assists and was able to find the back of the net against the Florida Everblades for his first goal of the season on Friday. He is a +32-rating in his Stingrays career.

A POWER SURGE For the third time this season, South Carolina’s power play tallied three goals in a single contest. Thanks to that performance, the Stingrays power play jumped up two percentage points and now sits at 16.2% on the season. The two other times South Carolina posted three power play goals were December 3rd against the Greenville Swamp Rabbits and January 28th against the Norfolk Admirals.

Tickets for all of the team’s upcoming 2021-22 home contests are on sale now via Ticketmaster.

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--StingraysHockey.com--