Stingrays outlast Gladiators

NORTH CHARLESTON , S.C. – The South Carolina Stingrays (28-19-1-1) maintained their mastery over the Gwinnet Gladiators (20-22-2-5) at the North Charleston Arena tonight with a solid 4-1 win over the visitors. The game was much closer than the final score indicated, as Gwinnet hung tough before South Carolina pulled away in the last two minutes of the game.   The ‘Rays win came as the home crowd saw two goals scored by forward Trent Campbell and excellent goal tending by newly acquired net minder Shane Owen. Owen won his second start tonight after being signed by South Carolina Coach and Director of Hockey Operations Cail MacLean earlier this week.  

  South Carolina has now won seven straight games against the Gladiators. They will play Gwinnett twice more this weekend. Saturday and Sunday’s tilts will be skated on the Gladiators’ ice. Tonight’s win also allowed the ‘Rays (58 points) to pull close to second place in the ECHL Eastern Conference South Division. They now trail the second place Florida EverBlades (59 points) by a single point and are just four points behind first place Greenville Road Warriors (62 points).   The ‘Rays and Road Warriors have played five fewer games than the ‘Blades.   Owen swept aside 30 of the 31 shots he faced in only his third ECHL game. He had previously played one game for Florida, a loss, before joining the ‘Rays. He beat first place Greenville on the road in his ‘Rays’ debut 2-1 Wednesday night.   The 20 year old rookie previously played in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL).   He began his season with the Moncton Wildcats of the “Q”.       The Markham Ontario native was signed as t he goal tending situation in South Carolina is currently unsettled. Both of the team’s regular goal tenders Todd Ford and Jared DeMichiel are on long term call ups with Hershey in the AHL.   In addition to Owen, Maclean was able to secure the loan of goal tender Andrew Loewen from the Columbus Cottonmouths of the Southern Professional Hockey League. Loewen is 1-1 in his two games since the call-up.   Forward Trent Campbell notched his first goal of the game and seventh of the season at 17:08 of the first period as Gwinnet defenseman Matt Duffy was sent off, for two minutes for hooking by referee Curtis Marouelli. Campbell caught a rebound burying the loose puck past losing goal tender Chris Carrozzi, from about five feet to the side of the crease.     Defenseman Josh Godfrey got the play started with a blistering shot from the point as he and forward Matt Scherer, who was creating traffic in front of the net picked up helpers. Owen was not tested much in the period dominated by the home team as they outshot Gwinnet 13 shots to only five for the visitors.   Gwinnet hammered Owen with 14 shots in the second period but could not solve the rookie net minder despite several nice chances. The ‘Rays were able to extend their lead to 2-0 as forward Jake Hauswirth picked up his second goal in two games and the game winner in this matchup at 9:58 of the second period.   Hauswirth’s ninth goal of the season beat Carrozzi low between the pads and came on a nice setup drop pass from Tommy Goebel. Joe Finley who just returned after a long stint on the injured reserve list picked up the other assist.       Gladiators’ forward Akim Aliu scored a power play goal at 4:52 of the final period to draw Gwinnett within 2-1, as ‘Rays’ defenseman Zach Jones sat in the penalty box for tripping.    Aliu’s sixth of the season was the only power play goal for Gwinnett in six opportunities. Forwards Michael Forney and Dustin Cameron were credited with assists on the strike.   The Aliu goal gave the Gladiators new life and sparked a heavy barrage of shots and opportunities for the visitors, but Owen hung tough. The game changer may have been a fantastic stop Owen made on the aforementioned Aliu about half way through the final stanza. Overall he faced 14 shots in the final period.   His biggest save came half way into the third period. Owen was able to preserve the 2-1 lead while Gwinnett enjoyed a man advantage. He made a diving recovery of a puck that appeared headed into the net after the initial shot by Aliu bounced off his goalie glove and rolled towards the net. The save got rave reviews from the big crowd of 5,004 in attendance.        The game remained close until South Carolina had a late and rare empty net, power play goal.   Gladiators Coach Jeff Pyle pulled his goalie despite the ‘Rays one man advantage. Campbell’s second goal of the game, and eighth of the season, came at 18:50. D-man Patrick Cullity had the only assist awarded on the goal South Carolina finished two-for-five on the man advantage in the game.   Finally at 19:52, the ‘Rays Goebel, who had a team high seven shots on goal in the game, got a break when his pass intended for Grant McNeill hit a Gladiator instead and deflected into the net for the 4-1 margin of victory. McNeil and veteran defenseman Nate Kiser picked up assists on the marker.              Notes: South Carolina announced the trade of two players Samson Mahbod and Dan Eves to Cincinnati. They received winger Ryan Del Monte, age 27, who has played 36 games in the American Hockey League this season, with two different teams. Ryan was part of the 2009-10 Cincinnati squad which won the Kelly Cup and has played just 11 games in the ECHL so far this season.   Mahbod a rookie speedster forward had 10 points, including three goals, in 16 games in South Carolina. He came to the ‘Rays in a trade from Elmira earlier this season. Eves another forward in his third year in the ECHL, had two goals and five assists in 26 game appearances.   Contact the author at Phil.Brand@prohockeynews.com