ECHL South Carolina Stingrays

Gordon and the Stingrays dispatch the Sea Wolves

Published on November 11, 2007 under ECHL (ECHL)
South Carolina Stingrays News Release


North Charleston, S.C. - The South Carolina Stingrays returned to the North Charleston Coliseum for just the third time this season in an attempt to extend their winning streak to three straight games. Newcomer Andrew Gordon made sure it was a happy homecoming by scoring 2 goals and adding 3 assists in his first home game with the Stingrays, en route to a 7-3 victory of the Mississippi Sea Wolves.

The Stingrays entered the game with 13 points, a 6-3-1 record on the season, while Mississippi had only one win and 3 points, going 1-7-0-1 prior to the game.

"The big concern coming into a game like this is getting over confident and complacent," said Head Coach Jared Bednar. "Because of the parity in this league, any team can beat any other team on any given night. Although I felt we were a little flat in the 1st period, we stuck with our game, and ended up playing well."

The 1st period saw the Rays and Wolves each tally a goal. South Carolina got on the board first when Gordon scored his second goal as a member of the Stingrays. After getting sent down from Hershey last week, Gordon has made his impact felt, scoring in his first game in Charlotte, and getting right back on the board in Charleston. His goal came at 4:45 and was unassisted. The Sea Wolves would tie things up with just over 5 minutes to play in the period on a goal from Lance Monych, his 5th of the season.

In the 2nd period the Stingrays found the back of the net early and often. At the :25 second mark Pierre-Luc O'Brien got his first goal of the season with assists from Stephen Werner and Matt W. Reid. Gordon would score his 2nd goal of the game, 3 goals in just 2 games, at 4:46. The goal was assisted by Marty Guerin and T.J. McElroy and made the score 3-1 in favor of the Stingrays. But they weren't done. Matt Reid scored a power play goal, his 6th goal of the season, at 8:38 from Gordon and Guerin. At that point, the Sea Wolves removed their starting goalie Morgan Cey in favor of Len DiCostanzo. No sooner had they put DiCostanzo in did the Stingrays score their 5th goal of the game, by Paul McIlveen at 9:07 from Guerin and Gordon. The Sea Wolves would add 2 more before the period would close, and after 40 minutes of play the Rays had a 5-3 lead.

In the 3rd period the Stingrays only padded their lead. First Chris Chaput got his 2nd goal of the season from McIlveen and Steve Pinizzotto, a power play, the 2nd of the night for South Carolina at 13:04. No more than a minute and a half later, back on the power play after a too many men on the ice call against Mississippi, did they score once again. Guerin took a beautiful pass through the crease from Gordon and buried it behind DiCostanzo for his 2nd goal of the season, to make the score 7-3, the eventual final.

The winning goaltender was Josh Johnson who won his 3rd straight start stopping 30 of 33 shots. The losing goaltender was Cey who gave up 4 goals on 15 shots before being removed. His replacement DiCostanzo allowed 3 goals on 8 shots. The Stingrays went 3 for 7 on the power play while killing off 5 of 7 short handed situations.

The Stingrays have a tough test ahead of them when they play their next game on the road against the first place Gwinnett Gladiators. The game will be on Friday at 7:35 and should tell Coach Bednar a lot about his club.

"I think that game will be a really big test for us. Our trouble with them in the past has been that we haven't been able to skate with them. I think that with this team this year, we will be able to do that. The biggest key will be keeping their power play in check, which is always so strong."

Don't miss all the fast-paced, hard-hitting action! Full season, weekend, and partial season ticket packages are available by calling (843) 744-2248 and speaking to a ticket sales manager.

Individual tickets can be purchased at the North Charleston Coliseum box office, by calling Ticketmaster at (843) 554-6060 and online at www.ticketmaster.com.

Discounted groups tickets, birthday packages, Kids Club information and fundraiser opportunities are available by calling (843) 744-2248 or by visiting online at www.stingrayshockey.com. Stingrays Hockey - A Whole Lot Cooler!

Check out the South Carolina Stingrays Statistics

Share: Facebook | Twitter/X | LinkedIn | Reddit | Email



ECHL Stories from November 11, 2007


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central