NORTH CHARLESTON, SC – Following two straight losses to start the South division semifinal series with Greenville, the South Carolina Stingrays headed home facing a crucial game three needing a win. No one knew it at the time but the win the Stingrays got that night of April 17th would be the start of something big.
Thursday night at the North Charleston Coliseum, that something big grew even bigger as the Stingrays rode a two-goal first period and 28 saves by goalie Parker Milner to a 2-1 victory over the Florida Everblades in front of an announced crowd of 2,802. The win gave Sourh Carolina a four games to one victory in the South division finals series and a third straight trip to the Eastern Conference finals.
Since going down 0-2 to the Swamp Rabbits in round one, the Stingrays have gone 8-1 in dispatching the top two seeds in the South division, including the Everblades who were the number one team in the conference. The numbers are even more staggering at home where South Carolina is a perfect 6-0 with three shutouts and only four goals allowed.
Much of the credit goes to netminder Milner who has been nothing short of spectacular. Milner has played every game in the post-season for South Carolina, recording all eight Stingrays wins with a goals against average of 1.83 and a save percentage of .932 to go with three shutouts.
The offense has done its part as well, staking the Stingrays to early leads that Milner made stand up. Thursday night’s close-out game was no different as South Carolina turned a burst late in the first period into all the goals its stellar netminder would need.
After a fairly evenly played first thirteen minutes, the Stingrays broke onto the scoreboard with two scores in a matter of 54 seconds. The first, coming at the 13:56 mark of the opening frame, started with Rob Flick sending the puck down the boards in the Florida defensive zone to Domenic Monardo. Monardo worked the disc to the side of the Everblades net where he put a shot on goalie Alex Nedeljkovic. Nedeljkovic made the save but the rebound came to the top of the crease where Andrew Cherniwchan got control and fired it up and over the netminder for his fifth goal of the playoffs.
Less than a minute later, South Carolina doubled its lead when Kelly Zajac made a pass to Olivier Archambault, springing the big forward into the clear and steaming toward the Florida net. A couple of quick moves later, Archambault beat Nedeljkovic with a backhander for his second post-season tally and a 2-0 Stingrays lead.
Much like Monday’s double overtime thriller, the second period was all about the goaltenders. Nedeljkovic and Milner were rock solid between the pipes. The pair traded save for save in the middle frame with Milner’s glove hand snare of a shot by Florida’s Josh Wesley being among the best of the lot.
With the netminders on their games, the physicality of the contest ramped up with each passing second. Tempers flared just shy of the halfway point of the stanza when the Everblades Matt Berry finished a check on South Carolina’s Wade Epp, sending the defenseman to the ice in apparent pain. Danny Federico immediately challenged Berry and the two dropped the gloves, each getting in some solid blows before the linesmen stepped in.
Heading into the third still up by two, the Stingrays had an early chance to increase their lead but Nedeljkovic denied Cherniwchan on a bid for his second of the night. Not too long after, Archambault went to the penalty box and Florida nearly got on the board when Brant Harris got a shot off that beat Milner but the post kept the puck from going across the line.
A solid effort on the power play paid off for the Everblades when just as Archambault returned to the ice, John McCarron redirected a shot/pass from Brendan O’Donnell home for his third goal of the playoffs to trim South Carolina’s lead to 2-1 with just over fifteen minutes left in regulation.
Nedeljkovic, who finished the night with 27 saves, did everything in his power to give the Everblades a chance to tie the contest by making several key stops down the stretch. With about 1:45 to go, Florida head coach Brad Ralph pulled his goalie for an extra attacker but the Stingrays did an outstanding job of keeping the Everblades chances to a minimum and allowing Milner to finish off the game and series with a victory.
Notes: Neither power play was successful in the game as Florida was unsuccessful on two man advantage opportunities while South Carolina failed on all three tries… South Carolina’s top scoring trio of Cherniwchan, Monardo and Flick combined for eight goals and 17 points in the series. By comparison, Florida’s leading scorers – Berry, McCarron and O’Donnell – were held to a total of three goals and nine points by the Stingrays… The Stingrays have now won 13 straight home games wearing their red jerseys…
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