Parker Milner (Sarah Hobday)
The South Carolina Stingrays clinched a playoff spot early last week, but are still looking to pass Florida for the South Division lead. They were able to keep pace with the Everblades going 3-1-0 las week.
The first game was a 4-3 overtime win against instate rival Greenville on Tuesday. Kelly Zajac scored twice, including the overtime game winner to send the Rays to the Kelly Cup Playoffs.
Friday, the Swamp Rabbits got revenge beating South Carolina 3-2. South Carolina outshot Greenville 37-20, but still could not muster a point. Parker Milner made 17 saves in the loss.
Saturday, the Rays offense came alive in a 5-0 shutout over the Atlanta Gladiators. Nick Roberto scored twice, while Danny Federico, Joey Leach and Taylor Cammarata all picked up two helpers for the Stingrays in the victory. Milner stopped all 31 Atlanta shots in the game and lowered his ECHL league-leading goals-against average to 1.94 on the season.
Sunday afternoon South Carolina’s hot offense refused to be cooled by the Jacksonville Icemen in a 6-3 win for the Stingrays as they scored four straight to help them earn the win. Steven Whitney led the way for the Rays with four points in the game on a goal and three assists, while Zajac had two goals and an assist, including the game-winning tally with 4:15 to play. Whitney now leads the team with 49 points in 50 games.
Whitney’s nine point week earned him player of the week honors.
Week ahead:
The Stingrays have a light week as they host the Idaho Steelheads for a pair of games on Thursday and Friday.
Leaders:
Goals: 19 – Joe Devin, Zajac
Assists: 32 – Whitney
Points: 49 – Whitney
Plus/Minus: Plus-25 – Federico
Shots On Goal: 164 – Devin
Wins: 21 – Milner
Goals Against Average: 1.94 – Milner
Save Percentage: 0.929 – Milner
Standing: The Stingrays are three points behind the Florida Everblades. Both teams have played 59 games and have 13 games to play. The two teams will play one more time this season.
