Stingrays Weekly Report: March 20, 2023

NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C. – The South Carolina Stingrays enter today as the top seed in the South Division after picking up six of eight possible points last week. South Carolina has a light schedule coming up with back-to-back games against the inter-divisional foes, the Maine Mariners, this Saturday and Sunday at the North Charleston Coliseum.

STINGRAYS RECORD:36-20-4-1LAST WEEK: 3-1-0-0

WEDNESDAY: SOUTH CAROLINA STINGRAYS 5, JACKSONVILLE ICEMEN 3(VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena – Jacksonville, FL)

The Stingrays and Icemen traded off goals in Wednesday night’s matchup with Jacksonville tying the game at three goals apiece with 7:30 remaining in regulation. Austin Magera netted the game-winner with just over two minutes left on the clock before Ryan Scarfo iced the game in the final minute. Jackson Leppard, Justin Florek, and Michael Kim provided the first three goals of the contest and Tyler Wall picked up his 14th win of the season behind a 24-save performance.

FRIDAY: GREENVILLE SWAMP RABBITS 4, SOUTH CAROLINA STINGRAYS 1(Bon Secours Wellness Arena – Greenville, SC)

Greenville took a 3-0 lead into the latter parts of the second period before Andrew Cherniwchan netted the lone Stingrays’ goal of the night. Cherniwchan chased down a puck and converted a breakaway opportunity while shorthanded for his third goal on the penalty kill this season. Clay Stevenson suffered the loss on the night as he turned back 28 shots.

SATURDAY: SOUTH CAROLINA STINGRAYS 6, SAVANNAH GHOST PIRATES 0(North Charleston Coliseum – North Charleston, SC)

South Carolina opened the scoring midway through the first period on Austin Magera’s tally and never looked back, routing the Savannah Ghost Pirates by a final score of 6-0. Justin Florek, Ian Mackey, Max Humitz, Bear Hughes, and Anthony Del Gaizo added a goal each before the final horn sounded. Tyler Wall turned back all 22 shots he saw for his first shutout of the season and second of his professional career.

SUNDAY: SOUTH CAROLINA STINGRAYS 5, JACKSONVILLE ICEMEN 2(North Charleston Coliseum – North Charleston, SC)

Like Wednesday’s contest, South Carolina found themselves down 1-0 in the first period before Robbie Stucker evened the score late in the opening stanza. Max Humitz gave South Carolina the first lead of the contest that was matched by a Jacksonville tally. The Stingrays closed out the contest with three unanswered goals from Ian Mackey, Connor Moore, and Humitz to move into first place in the South Division, jumping Greenville and Jacksonville.

THIS WEEKSaturday, March 25: vs. Maine Mariners, 6:05 p.m. (North Charleston Coliseum)Sunday, March 26: vs. Marine Mariners, 3:05 p.m. (North Charleston Coliseum)Video Coverage: FloHockey; Radio Coverage: Stingrays Broadcast Network

STINGRAYS LEADERSGoals: 21 – Bear HughesAssists: 34 – Bear Hughes, Josh WilkinsPoints: 54 – Bear HughesPlus/Minus: Plus-22 – Connor MoorePenalty Minutes: 82 – Chaz ReddekoppShots On Goal: 165 – Justin FlorekWins: 18 – Clay StevensonGoals Against Average: 2.57 – Clay StevensonSave Percentage: 0.915 – Clay Stevenson

TOP OF THE MOUNTAINThe Stingrays regained the top spot in the South Division following a three-win week including two against the Jacksonville Icemen, holding a one-point lead over Jacksonville and the Greenville Swamp Rabbits. The Stingrays look to return to the playoffs for the first time since their 2021 run where they finished as the Kelly Cup runner-up. Sunday’s win reduced the Stingrays’ magic number to 11 points with 11 games remaining this year.

THE BRICK WALLTyler Wall had a phenomenal week, posting a perfect 3-0 record with a 1.67 goals against average and a save percentage of 92.9%. In Saturday’s defeat of the Savannah Ghost Pirates, Wall notched his first shutout of the season when he turned back 22 shots. The native of Leamington, ON owns an overall record of 16-10-1 this year along with a 2.83 goals against average and a save percentage of 90.6%. The third-year pro has been relied upon recently and has surpassed his professional best by appearing in 28 games with the Stingrays this year.

SAY HELLO TO THE NEW ASSISTANT CAPTAINDefenseman Connor Moore is in his third season with the Stingrays and is having a career year. Through 53 games, Moore has set single-season bests by surpassing last year’s totals with six goals, 28 assists, and 34 points. The Georgia native has officially been named an assistant captain, joining Andrew Cherniwchan and Justin Florek as leaders on the team. Moore led the way for South Carolina last week, recording six points on one goal and five assists while earning a +6-rating and moving him to a +22-rating this season.—Season ticket plans are on sale now! 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--