In recording the win, the Rays had to come from behind twice by trading goals in periods one and two. When neither team scored in period three and overtime, the Rays were able to pick up the win in the shootout. The Rays now have eight wins and two losses so far this season.
There was a bit of background drama to this win as the Stingrays were facing former teammate and new Gladiator goaltender Josh Johnson, who was traded to Gwinnett earlier in the week. When the South Carolina Head Coach and General Manager Jared Bednar made the trade with the Gladiators for future considerations, he did the right thing although, it must have been difficult.
Josh Johnson has been an excellent player for the Stingrays but Bednar is committed to providing his players with the opportunity to advance in professional hockey, even when it might be a tough choice for his own team.
The Stingray’s started the regular season with three excellent goaltenders. Bobby Goepfert was signed over the summer from
What made Bednar’s decision even more difficult was a stretch in the new season when the Stingrays had to sign an emergency back-up goaltender. This was made necessary by the call-up of Goepfert to the Hershey Bears (AHL), and the possible assignment of Neuvirth to a team in the
Thus, on Saturday night in
The scoring started early at the 2:02 mark in period one when Gladiator defenseman Scott Marchesi recorded his second goal of the season. The goal came when forward Jordan Fox broke up a Stingray breakout at center ice. The resulting loose puck was picked up by Marchesi who skated in alone on Neuvirth for the score. Fox got the lone assist on the game’s first goal.
The Stingrays answered at the 15:05 mark of the period. With the Rays shorthanded due to a hooking penalty, rookie Maxime Lacroix scored his sixth goal of the season on a breakaway with assists going to defenseman Sasha Pokulok and forward Travis Morin. It was the second shorthanded goal for the Rays this season.
The teams traded goals again in the second period. The Gladiators struck first with a power play goal. Dirk Southern secured the puck behind the goal line and quickly found Pat Bateman in the high slot who hammered the puck past Neuvirth. Southern and Josh Engle got assists on this goal at the 10:33 mark.
The third period featured goaltending, not scoring. Neuvirth especially having to do some heavy lifting while facing 19 Gladiator shots. The Stingray’s managed only four shots on goal. Included in the heavy lifting were a number of excellent saves by Neuvirth, especially during a three-on-five, 46 second Gwinnett power play advantage with just over seven minutes left in regulation time.
Neither team was able to score in the overtime frame with both teams placing three shots on goal. The shootout, which in the ECHL features up to five shooters from each team, ended 2-1 in the Rays favor.
Contact the author at Phil.Brand@prohockeynews.com
