Stingrays Weekly Report: February 13, 2023

NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C. – The South Carolina Stingrays enter the week tied for third with the Greenville Swamp Rabbits in the South Division and are two points behind the Florida Everblades for first. South Carolina has a four-game week coming up, hitting the road on Tuesday and Thursday to take on the Atlanta Gladiators and Orlando Solar Bears before returning home for a pair of games against the Jacksonville Icemen on Saturday and Sunday.

STINGRAYS RECORD:27-12-4-1LAST WEEK: 1-2-0-0

THURSDAY: SAVANNAH GHOST PIRATES 5, SOUTH CAROLINA STINGRAYS 0(Enmarket Arena – Savannah, GA)

The Stingrays struggled to find offense on Thursday in Savannah despite peppering the Ghost Pirates’ netminder with 42 shots. The Ghost Pirates netted five unanswered goals and Isaiah Saville posted the first shutout in Savannah hockey history.

FRIDAY: GREENVILLE SWAMP RABBITS 7, SOUTH CAROLINA STINGRAYS 5(North Charleston Coliseum – North Charleston, SC)

The Stingrays jumped out to a 1-0 lead midway through the first period before a pair of Greenville goals gave the Swamp Rabbits an advantage at the end of the opening frame. The teams went on to score 12 total goals with Connor Moore leading the way with two tallies for the first time in his career. Lawton Courtnall, Ryan Scarfo, and Martin Haš all added markers before the 7-5 final loss for the Stingrays.

SATURDAY: SOUTH CAROLINA STINGRAYS 5, SAVANNAH GHOST PIRATES 4 (OT)(Enmarket Arena – Savannah, GA)

Anthony Del Gaizo led the way for the Stingrays on Saturday with a pair of power play goals for his seventh and eighth markers of the year. Jackson Leppard and Kevin O’Neil added a goal each for a 4-2 Stingrays lead entering the third period. Savannah netted a pair of goals to even the game at four goals apiece and force overtime. With seven seconds remaining in overtime, Michael Kim stripped a defender and raced end-to-end for the game-winning goal with less than a second on the clock.

THIS WEEKTuesday, February 14: at Atlanta Gladiators, 7:00 p.m. (Gas South Arena)Friday, February 17: at Orlando Solar Bears, 7:00 p.m. (Amway Center)Saturday, February 18: vs. Jacksonville Icemen, 6:05 p.m. (North Charleston Coliseum)Sunday, February 19: vs. Jacksonville Icemen, 3:05 p.m. (North Charleston Coliseum)Video Coverage: FloHockey; Radio Coverage: Stingrays Broadcast Network

STINGRAYS LEADERSGoals: 17 – Bear HughesAssists: 24 – Bear HughesPoints: 41 – Bear HughesPlus/Minus: Plus-15 – Connor MoorePenalty Minutes: 92 – Evan WardleyShots On Goal: 125 – Jonny EvansWins: 13 – Clay StevensonGoals Against Average: 2.37 – Clay StevensonSave Percentage: 0.921 – Clay Stevenson

BALANCING ACTThe Stingrays have played the second least number of games overall and the least amount of home games in the ECHL heading into this week. This will favor South Carolina down the stretch since they’re already 14-4-2 on home ice and are only two points out of first place in the South Division. The Stingrays hit the road for two more games before returning home for a season-long eight-game homestand spanning from February 18th through March 5th. This gives the Stingrays two weeks to make up a lot of ground for the final playoff push.

BEST IN THE LEAGUESouth Carolina’s power play has been buzzing recently, scoring two goals in each of the last two games and converting on four of seven opportunities to complete the weekend. Overall this year, the Stingrays own the top power play in the league, scoring 48 goals on the man advantage in 185 attempts. South Carolina averages just over four power play chances a game and is one of only three teams that averages more than a power play goal scored per game.

ANT GOES MARCHINGWith a pair of goals on Saturday in Savannah, Anthony Del Gaizo recorded his second multi-goal game of the season and helped the Stingrays to victory. During his rookie campaign, the native of New Jersey is tied for fifth on the team with 26 points on eight goals and 18 assists. Del Gaizo has thrived playing on the wing with Bear Hughes as his centerman. Del Gaizo has been a hard worker, making sure he plays just as well in the defensive zone, leading to a +6 rating this season.—Save money with group tickets! For more information or to purchase, contact the Stingrays by phone at 843-744-2248 or submit this form.

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--StingraysHockey.com--