NORTH CHARLESTON , S.C.- The South Carolina Stingrays should welcome the three straight home games they will play starting Friday, November 5, at the North Charleston Coliseum. After their original home opening date in mid-October was rescheduled due to arena scheduling issues, the locals finally get a chance to see games at home, with the Florida EverBlades providing the competition on Friday and Saturday evenings and on Sunday afternoon. Home ice might look good to the team since the record on the road earned only four points, while posting two wins and three losses in October. They currently occupy last place in the ECHL American Conference, South Division. There is some good news however, as the ‘Rays have three games in hand on the top two teams in their division (Gwinnett and Florida) and are coming off a big win against Gwinnett. Gwinnett not only leads the South Division, but is tied for the ECHL overall point’s lead. South Carolina handed Gwinnett their first loss in regulation time Monday by a score of 5-2. In Monday evening’s contest forward, Tommy Goebel led the ‘Rays with two strikes. Rob Ricci, returning for his second full season with the team, picked up three points, with a goal and two assists. Additionally, the team’s leading scorer defenseman Josh Godfrey picked up his fourth goal of the young season. The other goal went to big forward Jake Hauswirth. Rookie net minder Jared DeMichiel got the win Monday, to even his record to 2-2. He has 3.18 goals against average and a save percentage of 0.916, after appearing in four games. Veteran Todd Ford, on call-up to Hershey of the American Hockey League, played and lost the opening game of the season. Florida (5-3,10 points) comes into the low country riding a three game winning streak, led by forward Alexandre Imbeault, who spent the last two seasons with the ECHL Alaska Aces. Imbeault has eight goals and two assists for ten points, after playing in eight games. He is tied for fourth place in the overall league scoring race. His eight goals lead the ECHL in the goals scored category. Half of his strikes have come on the power play, also good for first place in the stats on power play goals scored. Mitch Fadden is also off to a great start and is tied for the team lead in scoring (2 goals, 8 assists, 10 points). Former Stingrays’ goal tender Bobby Goepfert now with Florida, sports a record of 3-1, a goals against average of 2.49 and a save percentage of 0.926. His partner in goal, Jaroslav Janus has not fared as well, with a goals against average of 4.69, a save percentage of 0.852 and a record of 2-2. This coming weekend should give South Carolina some real insight into the quality of the team. Additionally, South Carolina had the same record through the first five games last season, before going on to post a 41-19-12 record over the course of the season. Thus there are reasons to be optimistic despite the slow start. The ‘Rays will go head-to-head against arguably their biggest rival in the Florida Everblades. The advance ticket sales have been brisk and the fan base is eager to see the home season start. The rivalry, expected crowds and chance to play at home should make for an exciting opening weekend. Contact the author at Phil.Brand@prohockeynews.com
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