NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C. – The South Carolina Stingrays (10-6-1, 21 points) reclaimed first place in the ECHL South Division, sweeping two straight from the Gwinnett Gladiators this weekend at the North Charleston Coliseum. The two straight wins came after the ‘Rays lost a game in Gwinnett on Friday night 4-2. Returning to home ice, South Carolina won 3-2 on Saturday night and captured Sunday afternoon’s matinee contest with a score of 6-1. Rookie net minder Phillipp Grubauer was in goal for both wins. Grubauer’s back-to-back wins Saturday and Sunday propelled him into the statistical lead among ECHL goaltenders. He leads the league with a record of 8-1-0-1 coupled with 1.59 goals against average and a sparking 0.945 save percentage. Saturday night’s win before 3,382 was timely, as the ‘Rays stopped a four game losing streak, ending a slump and a 0-3-1 record over previous four games. The team had not won a game in almost two weeks. The win on Saturday came despite a very sloppily played first period by South Carolina. The Gladiators pumped 12 shots on goal at ‘Rays’ goalie Grubauer in the opening stanza. The home team trailed 1-0 after the period, as the Gladiators got a goal from forward Corey Fienhage, his third of the season at 11:59. Assists went to Riley Boychuk and a former Stingrays’ player Justin Milo. The ‘Rays answered with a goal of their own late in the second period as Greg Stewart picked up his first of three weekend goals. The slap shot goal at 15:29 came off a setup by Danick Paquette. Paquette had played with Gwinnet last season. Stewart played 26 games in the National Hockey League two seasons ago with the Montreal Canadiens. The Gladiators took their second lead of the game, late in period two, at 19:21, as Andy Brandt powered the puck past Grubauer during a successful power play. It was the visitor’s only power play goal in five chances. Another former popular Stingrays player Nikita Kashirsky combined with Spencer Bennett to set up Brandt. The late period 2-1 lead did not last, as Tyler Murovich was sent off for interference. The resultant power play at 19:37 was promptly converted into a goal for South Carolina. Pierre-Luc O’Brien came in from behind the net and used a wrap around move to send the two teams off the ice for the second intermission tied 2-2. Paquette and Johann Kroll got the helpers on 0’Briens eighth goal of the season. Billy Sauer in goal for Gwinnett and who faced 19 shots on the evening, took the loss when Trent Campbell picked up the game winner. The goal which came with just under four minutes left in regulation time was setup as Chris Higgins stole a puck in center ice and led Campbell into the zone in a two-on-one rush. He drew Sauer towards him and passed off to Campbell who buried the puck to claim the 3-2 lead and the eventual final score. Sunday’s game was less of a struggle for South Carolina. Stewart had a big night scoring twice and adding an assist to earn the games first star award. Meanwhile Grubauer had another busy night stopping 35 of the 36 shots he faced. Sauer took the loss in net for Gwinnett. Three South Carolina players had three points in the game. Sean Doan opened the scoring for the winners off helpers from Stewart and Paquette. Dolan finished the game with a goal and two assists. This first period goal was followed by a four goal South Carolina barrage in period two. Stewart scored at 4:25 and followed again with a strike at 8:59. Next up, Anthony Maiani and Kroll found the back of the goal. Paquette picked up his third assist of the game on the Kroll goal. The 5-0 second period lead was extended to 6-0 as Paul Baier picked up an empty net and shorthanded goal at the 15:30 mark of the third period. However, the Gladiators spoiled the shutout just 23 seconds later while on the power play. Boychuk and Shane Sims combined on Boychuk’s first goal of the year as the ‘Rays ran out the clock for the 6-1 victory. Contact the author at Phil.Brand@prohockeynews.com
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