Stingrays continue to struggle

NORTH CHARLESTON , S. C. – The call ups and injuries haven’t stopped, but the South Carolina Stingrays’ have found a way to manage them.   About a month ago the Stingrays seemed to have peaked and had raced out to the best record in the ECHL. The winning came despite the massive call ups and injuries, which left as many as nine players from the original roster, including leading scorers and both regular goalies unavailable. Less than a month later, player movement continues, but the winning magic has faded as the ‘Rays’ have posted only two wins in their last 12 games. They have managed to pick up just seven points over this stretch, with the two wins and three overtime/shootout losses.   Over the past weekend the ‘Rays’ split a two-game series with their archrivals the Florida EverBlades eking out an overtime win Friday night, 4-3 and then losing Saturday, 4-2 in regulation time. Since threatening the 50-game win mark earlier in the season, the ‘Rays have floundered after playing so well in the face of adversity. They are now in the middle of a crippling streak which has reduced their overall lead in the South Division of the ECHLs American Conference to 11 points. Even their points lead is deceptive, as the ‘Rays have played six more games than the South Division’s second place Charlotte Checkers. Meanwhile the Checkers have gone 6-3-0-1 over their last ten games to close what once appeared to be an insurmountable point gap.     The call-ups, although a natural part of ECHL hockey have been tough. The Stingrays lost both starting goal tenders when Braden Holtby, a Washington Capitals product, and Todd Ford, signed to give the Stingrays a veteran presence in the net, were promoted to the American Hockey League. Then call ups of their leading scorer at the time, Matt Fortanato, along with rookie sensation Nikita Kashirsky, impacted on the offensive output.   Additionally, Michel Dubuc who scored 35 goals last year with his big shot has been up and down all season between South Carolina with Hershey impacting his potential productivity.     Defensively the story is the same. Established defensemen from last year’s Kelly Cup team, Zach Tarkir and Patrick Wellar are on recall and other blue liners are gone either through call-ups and injuries.   Joe Finley, Zach Jones, Johann Kroll and Josh Godfrey are all missing from the lineup. Currently only two of the six defensemen on the starting roster are left in South Carolina, Nate Kiser and Dylan Yeo. However, both have been slowed by injuries, with each missing a number of games. The loss of Kashirsky and Fornataro has hurt the ‘Rays offensively.   They have been particularly missed on special teams. In Saturday’s loss for example the ‘Rays managed only one goal in eight power play chances. They are dead last in the ECHL in scoring on the power play at home. Overall, they are averaging 3.41 goals for, while allowing 3.23 goals against, right in the middle of the ECHL pack in both categories.     So why should Stingrays’ fans be optimistic? First, they did show the ability to win earlier despite a depleted lineup.   They reeled off 13 straight wins in late November and December and added another five game win streak in January, with a lot of the same players missing. So the nucleus of the current roster can win. Secondly, the goal in the ECHL is to make the playoffs, not necessarily win the regular season Championship. Just ask last year’s EverBlades’ team how it feels to finish first in the regular season and then get bounced out of the playoffs. Lastly, the players who are on call up are eligible for post season play.   So, depending on how their AHL teams finish, some of the mainstays could return, which would strengthen the team defensively and add scoring up front in time as the playoffs begin.     More importantly, Coach Cail MacLean isn’t going to just settle for easing into the playoffs. He is driven to recapture the level of play the team produced earlier regardless of who is in the lineup. To paraphrase what he recently said at one of his Monday night appearances with fans at a local restaurant “All teams experience recalls and injuries, they aren’t an excuse that we will use.” Hopefully, for Stingrays’ fans the split against Florida will signal a new start as the ‘Rays who have 16 games left in the regular season. Nine of the games are at home. Most importantly, seven of their remaining games are against Florida so the motivation this bitter rivalry can create may be the catalyst to end the season on a high note. Contact the author at Phil.Brand@prohockeynews.com Contact the photographer at rob.huelsman@prohockeynews.com