With two wins over South Division rivals Greenville, the South Carolina Stingrays have moved into fourth place, topping the Swamp Rabbits by one point. The Stingrays and Swamp Rabbits will wrap up their five-game series with two contests at the North Charleston Coliseum.
In 180 minutes of hockey from Bon Secours Wellness Arena, South Carolina outscored Greenville nine to seven.
To open the week, the Stingrays announced the signing of defenseman Alex Brooks out of Southern Professional Hockey League’s Fayettville FireAntz. The 25-year-old out of the University of Wisconsin-Steven Point (D-III), went -2 with three shots on goal in his first three games. He wears jersey No. 5.
Also, Steven McParland was named ECHL Rookie of the Month for November with his six goals, seven assists, and +6 rating over 11 games.
Joey Leach, after 12 games with AHL Hershey, was reassigned to South Carolina.
On night one, the Swamp Rabbits let up two early markers to Dylan Margonari and Rob Flick, which extended his point streak to seven games. Greenville controlled the second period of play, with tallies from Chad Duchesne, Michael Joly, and Spiro Goulakos.
John Parker pulled one back in the third, but two more goals from Tommy Thompson and Joly regifted Greenville the lead. A late marker from Joe Devin was not enough to help the Stingrays, who dropped the first match. Parker Milner made 23 saves in the loss while Jeff Malcolm stopped 42 Stingrays bids at his cage.
With a mid-period goal from Angelo Miceli, it seemed like the Swamp Rabbits were on their way to another win. But when Rob Flick pulled the game even in the last minute of the first, the Stingrays had new life. Flick had to answer for his kneeing penalty with a fight against Andrew Dommett in the second period. He fell an assist short of a Gordie Howe Hat Trick.
Adam Carlson shut the door after the early Miceli goal, finishing the night with 20 saves. Kelly Zajac scored with 127 seconds left in the game, followed by an empty-netter from Patrick Gaul to put away the 3-1 win.
Flick’s point streak came to an end at eight, but the rest of the offense made up for it in the rubber match, winning 2-1. Margonari and Goulakos cancelled each other out in the second period, followed up with a goal from rookie Alex Gacek with 61 seconds left in the contest. Milner stopped 25 shots for the victory to get out of Greenville ahead of their intra-state rival.
NEXT WEEK
The finale of the five-game series will come to North Charleston on Friday and Saturday nights. On Friday, the Stingrays invite fans to bring a new or gently used teddy bear for the team’s Teddy Bear Toss. After the Stingrays’ first goal, all bears get thrown on the ice. Last season, the team collected 3,077 stuffed animals for the Salvation Army’s Angel Tree Program.
The following night, Donatello and Leonardo from the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles will make an appearance at the North Charleston Coliseum. The game is also “Hat Trick for Reading Night,” where students from local schools can earn a ticket to the game for reading a “Hat Trick” of books. In addition to all this, a Toy and Coat Drive will be held Saturday night to benefit the Tricounty Family Ministries. Fans who bring toys or coats will receive a Stingrays collectible stadium cup.
CURRENT STANDING
4th in South Division, 19 games played, 10-8-1-0 (W-L-OTL-SOL), 21 points, 0.553 points percentage
