North Charleston , SC – The South Carolina Stingrays started the season playing hit or miss hockey over the first five games. The team has used a very tough road trip during the last week of October into the first half of November to gain momentum, as well as a team identity. They racked up a record of 6-1-2 on their recent nine-game, two weeks long journey. Then, they topped the trip off with a nice overtime win against Charlotte in their first home game of the month, Saturday night, November 14. This win, ran their seasonâs record to 9-2-1-3 good for 22 points. The 22 points are good enough for second place overall in the ECHL standings, but second place is partially the result of the fact that the âRays have played more games than all of the other teams in the league, except for the Ontario Reign. For example their lead in the South Division of the American Conference is somewhat misleading since Florida has played only one less game (14) than the âRays, both Gwinnett and Charlotte have played only 11 games each. The âRays have only one loss this year, in regulation time on the road. They earned 14 of a possible 18 points on the recent road trip. Impressively, the road wins did not come during a series of short trips. Rather, they were earned during a bus trip that took them to south Florida and then north through Wheeling, WV; Reading, PA; Elmira, NY; Trenton, NJ and ending in the south to a final stop in Gwinnett, Ga. Their only regulation loss on the road came in Florida in the first of three games against the Everblades to open the road trip. The ‘Rays won the next two against Florida and were off and running on the road. The team is earning an identity as a hard working, gritty, balanced team with the determination to earn wins or at least points, even when they should be exhausted and seem to be outplayed. For example, coming off their successful road trip the home crowd on Saturday was prepared for a letdown. Despite a lackluster second period by the âRays, they somehow managed to win the game 3-2 in a shootout against Charlotte, which was not only rested, but may be the fastest skating team in the ECHLs South Division. Goaltending has been steadily improving. Prior to the road trip, the goalies had a combined goals-against-average of 3.16 and a save percentage of .898. Flash forward to today and veteran Todd Ford is tied for the league lead in number of wins with six. Ford and rookie Braden Holtby have been busy reducing their goals against and increasing their save percentages. Collectively they now have a goals-against-average of 2.79 and a save percentage of .911. Holtbyâs win-loss record is 3-1-1-2 supported by a goals-against-average of 2.74 and a save percentage of .913. Fordâs record of 6-1-0-1 is based on a goals-against-average of 2.83 and a save percentage of .909. Obviously, the defensive play of the forwards and defensemen has been part of the reason for the goaliesâ improved statistics. Dylan Yeo and Zach Takir have been excellent on the blue line. Yeo, for example, leads the team with a plus six plus/minus rating while Takir is contributing both defensively and on the score sheet. Rookie center Nikita Kashirsky (9g-6a-15p) continues to show promise. He is the co-leader in scoring along with veteran forward Keith Johnson (5g-10a-15p). Both have played in all of the teamâs 15 games thus far. Defenseman Zach Takir who had a number of game winning goals in last yearâs Kelly Cup series win is the teamâs third leading scorer with 11 points on two goals and nine assists. Last yearâs team leader in the regular season with 35 goals Michael Dubuc has also picked up his scoring of late and has 11 points including four goals. He has become the Dubuc of last year launching shots from almost everywhere and has also been playing a more defensive game to contribute at both ends of the ice. Despite their recent success the team continues to misfire on the power play posting only a 15.3 percent success rate with the manpower advantage. Conversely they have the second best penalty kill ratio in the ECHL currently killing off short handed situations at the rate of 87.5 percent; good for second place in the ECHL. Interestingly, they have been better at killing penalties on the road (91.3) than at home (82.4). Next up, the âRays sandwich in another road game Wednesday, November 18 in Charlotte before facing the Gwinnett Gladiators at the North Charleston Coliseum on Friday November 20 and Saturday November 21 followed by a Sunday afternoon matinee visit by Johnstown. Three of their next five games are against Gwinnett, two in North Charleston and one in Gwinnett in the middle of next week. Thus far the two teams have played four times with all four games requiring either overtime or a shootout to determine a winner. These next five games, three at home and two on the road will bring the Stingrays to what some experts believe is the magic mark of 20 games played for the season. Hockey Hall of Fame member Phil Esposito who played 18 seasons in the NHL and served as a General Manager in the NHL now spends part of his time as a broadcaster on Sirius Radioâs NHLâs Home Ice satellite radio station. Recently, Esposito expressed the thought that âat about 20 games into the season fans and hockey administrators have a pretty clear picture of what their teamâs performance and capabilities are for the remaining of the season.â If Esposito is correct, this next stretch of five games, four of which are against divisional foes should give South Carolina fans a good indication, if the teamâs initial success is predictive for the balance of the season. Contact the author at Phil.Brand@prohockeynews.com
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