NORTH CHARLESTON, SC – The South Carolina Stingrays led 2-0 and 6-1 at the end of the first two periods before seeing the Cincinnati Cyclones stage a comeback in period three. Despite the Cyclones rush the Stingrays held on to win by a score of 7-4 before 3,050 at the North Charleston Coliseum. The win sends the âRays up one game to none in the best-of-seven games American Conference finals. The series winner will advance to the ECHLâs Kelly Cup finals.
South Carolina cruised through the first two periods forcing Cyclonesâ Coach Chuck Weber to pull starting goaltender Ryan Nie at the 11:53 mark of the second stanza. When Nie left the game he had surrendered four goals on 23 shots. Nie’s replacement, Loic Lacasse, surrendered two quick goals within three minutes after replacing Nie and took the loss. Lacasse stopped 11 of the 13 shots he faced.
South Carolina was led by forward Michael Dubuc who has played sparingly in the playoffs due to an injury which kept him out for an extended period. Dubuc, a rookie, scored two goals and added an assist on his way to being named the number one star in the game. Dubucâs first goal came off a rebound in period one while his second came in period two off a blast from the top of the circle on a power play. Dubuc’s second goal led to an one-ice discussion among the officials and consultation with the goal judge as the Cyclones thought the puck had been shot through the side of the net. The view from the end zone however, showed the puck was in the net legally. Dubucâs shot is one of the hardest on the Stingrays and he simply blasted it past Nie.
Meanwhile, âRaysâ forward Matt Scherer was also having a big night scoring two goals including the game-winner. He greeted Lacasse with two goals within a three minute period after Lacasse had relieved Nie. Schererâs first goal came on a tip-in off a Scott Romfro shot from the point. His second score came off a nifty backhander over Lacasse generated off a great pass from Trent Campbell. Jeff Corey who scored in the first period, Keith Johnson who scored early in period two and Pierre-Luc OâBrien, who got an empty netter to seal the win and shut down the budding Cyclonesâ rally, were the other South Carolina goal scorers.
While the first two periods were all South Carolina, the Cyclones to their credit did not quit. They initially showed some spark in period two when Ian McKenzie beat Jonathan Boutin high to his glove side from inside the circle. This goal brought the Cyclones within 3-1 and it appeared momentum may have been shifting. However, two quick penalties after that initial Cyclones score saw their momentum slip away as the âRays scored three more times and led 6-1 at the second intermission.
The game quickly became a contest in period three as the Cyclones beat winning goaltender Boutin twice in the first 68 seconds of the period. The Stingrays were down two men to start the third period. Only ten seconds into the third period Brad Ehgoetz shot a laser beam past Boutin to make the score 6-2. Then, at 1:08 Matt Macdonald got the next power play goal through a crowd in front of the net and Cincinnati was back in the game.
Cincinnati carried play for the first ten minutes of the last period scoring a short-handed goal, albeit off a penalty shot, creeping within two goals at 6-4. The shorthanded penalty shot was scored by Mark Van Guilder who was pulled down by Sasha Pokoluk as he broke free and skated in alone while on the penalty kill. Van Guilder’s high glove side shot beat Boutin and the possible comeback must have caused the âghostâ of last yearâs series to show-up.
Both of the team’s coaches agree that the turning point in that series, won in five games by Cincinnati, was Game 2 when the Cyclones roared back from a 3-0 deficit to win a 4-3 victory in overtime. The âRays never recovered from that loss and the Cyclones went on to win that series in five games in route to last seasonâs Kelley Cup win.
However, this time the âRays regrouped and were able to protect the lead although they gave up 17 shots in the final period. The empty netter by OâBrien at 18:35 ended the scoring and settled the gameâs outcome.
âWe were fortunate to have Cincinnati come out a little flat,” said South Carolina assistant coach Cail MacLean. “What the fans saw in period three is the real Cyclones team so the âRays must play a lot better if they expect to win this seriesâ
Game 2 of the series is set for Monday night in North Charleston a 7:05 PM.
Contact the author at Phil.Brand@prohockeynews.com
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