Game Preview: Stingrays at Railers, February 5 at 3:05 PM

GAME PREVIEW: SC Stingrays at Worcester Railers

February 5, 2023 | DCU Center | 3:05 PMBroadcast Info: Watch live on FloHockey | Listen via Mixlr & Caps Radio 24/7Radio pre-game coverage starts at 2:45 p.m.Complete Stingrays Game Notes

The South Carolina Stingrays continue their 2022-23 campaign as they complete a three-in-three weekend against the Worcester Railers at the DCU Center. The Stingrays look to stay perfect outside the South Division as they’re 5-0 against the North Division this year.

LAST TIME OUTJosh Wilkins put the Stingrays on the board with his 14th goal of the season to close out the first period. In the second frame, Jackson Leppard slammed home a rebound for his first goal since joining the Stingrays in January. Jonny Evans iced the game with his second goal of the weekend. Worcester got one back on a late power play goal but the Stingrays finished things off with 28 saves from Tyler Wall in the win.

ALL-TIME SERIESSouth Carolina is 7-1 in eight all-time battles between the two franchises since Worcester joined the ECHL during the 2017-18 campaign. The Stingrays won the first-ever battle on February 9th, 2018 by a score of 4-1 at the DCU Center before winning both contests the following season and two more during the 2019-20 season. Last year the two teams faced off once on March 18th, 2022 in a 3-0 shutout victory for the Railers, their only win in the series. South Carolina won the first two matchups of the year by scores of 3-2 and 3-1 on Friday and Saturday.

KIM REACHES 200Defenseman Michael Kim played in his 200th professional game and 150th career ECHL game last, tallying two assists and helping the Stingrays to victory. Kim has skated in 50 career AHL games where he has tallied 11 assists. Throughout his ECHL career, the blueliner has recorded 73 points on 10 goals and 63 assists. Through 27 games this season, Kim is one point away from his single-season high with 21 points on four goals and 17 assists.

DOUBLE DOWN IN THE SECONDThe Stingrays have been a menace in the second period this season, nearly doubling their opponent’s production and outscoring the opposition 59-30, the second-largest differential in that period. South Carolina is one of only two teams (the other being Idaho) that are outshooting their opponents by over 100 shots in the middle frame and have scored the second-most goals in the second period. The Stingrays have outshot Worcester 30-16 and have outscored them 4-1 in the first two games of the weekend series.

GOALIES WANT APPLESClay Stevenson and Tyler Wall are one of only two goalie tandems in the league that rank in the top 15 in both goals against average and save percentage. Along with their outstanding performances in net, they’ve been rewarded on the offensive side of the play as well. The duo has three assists each in 19 games this year, the most as a goaltending group since 2009-10 when Shane Connelly, Todd Ford, and Braden Holtby combined for six assists. Only Parker Milner has more goaltender points in a single season when he recorded five assists in 2017-18 and four in 2018-19.

Upcoming 5-Game Schedule.South Carolina at Savannah – Thursday, February 9 at 7:00 p.m.Greenville at South Carolina – Friday, February 10 at 7:05 p.m.South Carolina at Savannah – Saturday, February 11 at 7:00 p.m.South Carolina at Atlanta – Tuesday, February 14 at 7:00 p.m.South Carolina at Orlando – Friday, February 17 at 7:00 p.m.

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