Joey Leach via Sarah Hobday
The Stingrays skated into the holiday break winning two of three games. Both wins came over rival Greenville while the loss came to the hands of the Atlanta Gladiators.
Thursday night in Grenville, Kelly Zajac scored twice while Jeff Jakaitis stopped 19-0f-20 shots he saw to earn the win. Paul Megannety scored the other goal for the Stingrays in the 3-1 win.
Friday in Charleston the Stingrays third period comeback came up just short as they fell 4-3. The Stingrays were down 2-0 before the first period was half over. Parker Milner made 18 saves in the loss. Steven Whitney had a goal and an assist and Patrick Gaul had two assists in the losing effort. Tommy Hughes and Andrew Cherniwchan scored the other two goals for the Stingrays.
Saturday the Rays were back in Greenville where they prevailed in the shootout. In the shootout, Jakaitis appeared to make a save in the top of the third round that secured the win for the Stingrays, however upon further review, it was determined that the puck crossed the goal line. The Rays had to come back out from the locker room. After they did, Frankie Simonelli sent them right back scoring the game winner. Tim McGauley scored both goals for the Stingrays in regulation.
Standings: The Rays now sit three points behind the Florida Everblades who have a game in hand on South Carolina. They are now seven points clear of third place Greenville. Conference wise, they are tied with the Manchester Monarchs who lead the North Division, though the Stingrays have two games in hand on them. The Rays are six points clear of the Wheeling Nailers, who the Rays have a game in hand on, for third in the conference.
Leaders:
Goals: Cherniwchan- 10
Assists: Joe Devin– 14
Points: Devin- 22
Defenseman points: Simonelli- 16
GAA: Jakaitis- 2.35
Save Percentage: Milner- .913
Wins: Jakaitis- 10
Shutouts: Jakaitis- 1
Week ahead: The Stingrays will have a home-and-home against Atlanta on Friday and Saturday with the first game being in Atlanta. Friday’s puck drop is scheduled for 7:35 and Saturday the usual 7:05.
