| NORTH CHARLESTON, SC –The South Carolina Stingrays’ (13-13-2) 28 points, six game win streak hit the wall big time on home ice Tuesday night. The Greenville Road warriors hammered the home team 6-0 before a crowd of 1,702 at the North Charleston Coliseum. The game was close until the third period when the Road Warriors scored four unanswered goals. Visiting goalie Nathan Lieuwen stopped 26 shots on goal for the win. Lieuwen was a major difference all game as he kept the Stingrays from cashing in on multiple good chances in the game. His effort earned him his first shutout as a professional. Meanwhile the ‘Rays who has won six straight behind the ECHL statistical leader goaltender Ryan Zapolski started Adam Morrison in net. His start in part was due to the call up of Zapolski to the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the American Hockey League. The rookie gave up six goals on 29 shots. The four third period goals he allowed came on 13 shots. Greenville (14-10-2) 30 points, got balanced scoring as six different players scored goals. Defenseman Mike Marcou led his team with a goal and two assists. Thirteen of the sixteen players who saw ice time for the Road Warriors earned points in the game. The ‘Rays’ power play continued to struggle as they went 0-4 with the man advantage while Greenville struck twice in their four attempts. On the season the ‘Rays are scoring 15.8 per cent of the time with the man advantage. By comparison the best power play team in the league Colorado is scoring at a 27.1 per cent clip. South Carolina announced yesterday they signed the ECHL 2011-12 goal tender of the year Jeff Jakaitis as a replacement for Zapolski. He played with Gwinnett last season earning five shutouts on the season. His 2.03 goals against average was second best in the ECHL. He played his junior hockey in the United States Hockey League, went on to play at Lake Superior State University before turning pro in the 2007-08 season. He is a native of Rochester, MN. |
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