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ECHL South Carolina Stingrays

Game Preview: Stingrays at IceMen, December 18 at 7 Pm

December 18, 2020 - ECHL (ECHL)
South Carolina Stingrays News Release


Friday, December 18, 2020 at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena at 7 PM

Broadcast Info: Watch live on FloHockey | Listen via Caps Radio 24/7 & Mixlr

About Tonight's Game: After an overtime loss on opening night a week ago, the South Carolina Stingrays will attempt to win their first game of 2020-21 Friday night in Jacksonville when they take on the Icemen. The opening matchup of a home-and-home weekend set, Friday's contest is the first of five outings between the two divisional opponents on the ECHL's known schedule through mid-February. The Rays are looking to recapture the magic of an outstanding 2019-20 campaign where they had the top winning percentage in the ECHL with a record of 44-14-3-1 (0.742). While they were unable to complete the year and compete in the postseason, SC finished as the best defensive team in the league, allowing an average of just 2.37 goals per game. The Rays also had the third-highest penalty killing percentage at 87.6%. This year's SC team is a mix of old and new as Ryan Blair takes the reins as head coach after spending last season as an assistant. With him are 11 returning skaters, including team captain Andrew Cherniwchan and many other staples from a year ago.

Tonight marks the first meeting of the season between the two clubs. South Carolina posted a 5-1-0 record against the Icemen last season and leads the All-Time Series 14-12-0-0.

Scouting the Icemen: Jacksonville finished the 2019-20 year with a record of 24-29-6-1 in 60 games, and would have been in a late season battle for a spot in the postseason had play continued. Head Coach Jason Christie returns for his fourth year behind the bench, along with forwards Cameron Critchlow, Wacey Rabbit and last year's All-Star selection Brendan Warren. On defense, Jacob Cederholm is back along with newcomers Jeff Taylor and Jason Binkley, as well as former Stingray Kevin McKernan. Through two games, Rabbit has scored twice while Ara Nazarian, Nick Saracino and Luke Shiplo have all netted tallies. In net, Eamon McAdam made 27 saves to secure the team's first victory on Saturday, while Callum Booth and Kyle Keyser, both goaltenders in the Boston Bruins system are also expected to see time in between the pipes.

Upcoming Home Games

Saturday, December 19, vs. Jacksonville, 6:05 p.m.

Sunday, December 27, vs. Greenville, 3:05 p.m.

Friday, January 8, vs. Wheeling, 7:05 p.m.

Saturday, January 9, vs. Wheeling, 6:05 p.m.

Check out the South Carolina Stingrays Statistics



ECHL Stories from December 18, 2020


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