Trevor Gillies drops the gloves (via the Stingrays)
Head coach Spencer Carbery began the week announcing the trade of Andrew Johnston to Indianapolis for future considerations. The Stingrays also signed Jordan Ciccarello from free agency and got Bobby Shea back from his recall with the Hershey Bears.
Ciccarello began hos minor hockey career with the Danbury Whalers of the Federal Hockey League (FHL). He then jumped from the FHL to the ECHL’s Elmira Jackals to the Southern Professional Hockey League’s (SPHL) Louisiana IceGators back to the ECHL for a brief stint with the Greenville Road Warriors (now the Swamp Rabbits). This season, he started back with Louisiana before signing with the Florida Everblades. The Stingrays are the seventh different team he has played for since leaving Nazareth College in 2014.
In his first game on his new team, Cicarello accounted for two of the team’s 26 shots in a 4-1 loss to the Atlanta Gladiators. Marcus Perrier tallied the lone Stingray goal early in the second period before a three-goal third pushed Atlanta to victory. Matt Register scored the game winner on the power play and the short-handed empty-net goal to start and end the final frame respectively.
Finally returning home, the Stingrays looked to bounce back against the Alaska Aces in the first regular season meeting since 2004 and the first overall since the 2009 Kelley Cup Finals. The Aces came into this weekend looking to end their two-week road trip at better than .500.
After giving up three goals in the first period, Vitek Vanecek closed off the Aces attack in the second, allowing South Carolina’s offense to score three goals of their own. Jared Staal, Ciccarello, and David Pacan (PP) scored in the middle frame to set up a thrilling finish. After Stephan Vigier scored the lead marker, Tommaso Traversa completed his hat trick to tie the game at four. In overtime, Felix-Antoine Poulin beat Vanecek over the glove to give the first of the back-to-back to the visitors. Trevor Gillies scored not one, but two fighting majors in the contest as well.
Stingray’s captain Andrew Rowe did not play against Alaska since the Bridgeport Sound Tigers recalled him before Saturday’s action. As a quasi-replacement, Indianapolis sent Kevin Quick, a former Stingray captain, to the Lowcountry as the “future considerations” portion of the Andrew Johnston trade. Quick returned to America following a year with the Dundee Stars of the Elite Ice Hockey League (EIHL) in the United Kingdom.
It looked like de ja vu for the Stingrays as they gave up three unanswered goals through the first and second periods before Marcus Perrier scored eight seconds before the middle period ended. Stephan Vigier moved his season goal total to 10 with the second Stingray goal and Pacan made it a tie game with his 11th of the year. Mark Dekanich stopped the only shot in the overtime and this rematch needed a shootout to decide a winner. Alaska’s Anthony Deluca hit the twine at the top of the third round and Paul Rodrigues could not return fire. The Stignrays dropped their fifth straight by the shootout final of 4-3.
NEXT WEEK
It’s a short week for South Carolina since they only have two games, home contests against Atlanta and Greenville. Sunday in the Lowcountry is almost a regional holiday with the Carolina Panthers welcoming the Arizona Cardinals for the NFC Championship Game.
CURRENT STANDING
39 games played, 20-14-3-2 (W-L-OTL-SOL), 45 points, 3rd in South Division
