In 180 aggregate minutes against the Colorado Eagles, the South Carolina Stingrays lost the overall scoring battle 13-12. They outshot their visitors 98-76, limiting the Eagles to 14 total shots in the third game.
If the three contests were divided into two 90 minute affairs, the Stingrays would have demolished the second game with a 9-6 victory, holding the Eagles to one power play goal. Alas, this is not soccer.
Despite scoring first in every game, the Stingrays dropped the first two of the series to the Eagles and surrendered one shorthanded goal to pair with three power play tallies. Colorado led at some point in each contest.
The Stingrays would have to play these games without Domenic Monardo, who got called up by AHL Hershey and shined in his debut, and captain Joe Devin, on loan to the San Antonio Rampage.
Thursday night’s match saw four consecutive goals from Colorado to wipe away the chances of a Stingrays victory. Five minutes after the last Colorado goal from Sergei Boikov, Marcus Perrier said enough is enough.
With Kelly Zajac heading off for a slashing minor, Perrier and Rob Flick threw down their gloves and started hitting the first Eagle they could grab. Neither opponent dropped their gloves, so both Stingrays were assessed roughing minors. Perrier got ejected from the game for continuing the altercation, and gave lip service to the officiating crew all the way down the tunnel, turning back to the ice at two different times.
Flick would score a goal in the last eight seconds, on his team-best seventh shot, to make the scoreline 4-2 and not 4-1. Parker Milner finished the game with 26 saves on 30 shots.
Saturday’s game started with the same script: the Stingrays score first (Steven McParland) and the Eagles rattle off four straight. In the third, Matt Grabowsky got the fifth straight Eagles goal. From there, the Lowcountry chose to keep fighting, starting with Perrier fighting Sean Zimmerman for the second straight night.
Scott Tanski and Alex Gacek scored 17 seconds apart and Rob Flick scored with Adam Carlson on the bench for the extra attacker. In under three minutes, the score went from 5-1 to 5-4.
Matt Register and Luke Salazar scored on the empty net, but Steve Weinstien put up the last goal on Colorado goalie Clarke Saunders with 15 seconds to go.
Carrying over from the previous night, the Stingrays kept at it for the Sunday matinee. The only Eagles who scored, Ryan Harrison shorthanded and Matt Grabowsky, coincided with the only Eagles to get more than one shot on goal the entire game. Milner finished the night making 12 saves on 14 shots.
Third period goals from Flick, Tanski, and Gacek supplemented tallies from John Parker in the first and Kelly Zajac in the second. The 5-2 win marked the only win of the weekend, but also the most decisive one for South Carolina.
NEXT WEEK
Following a home matchup with the Norfolk Admirals, the Stingrays will leave the Lowcountry for an afternoon contest the next day against the Atlanta Gladiators.
CURRENT STANDING – Through 14 games played
5th South Division, 6-7-1-0, 13 points (.464 points percentage)
