Sports stats



ECHL South Carolina Stingrays

Staal's Heroics Move Rays into First Place with 2-1 Victory over Florida

March 19, 2016 - ECHL (ECHL)
South Carolina Stingrays News Release


NORTH CHARLESTON, SC - Forward Jared Staal scored with 5:36 to play in the third period to lead the South Carolina Stingrays (37-18-5-3) to a 2-1 victory over the Florida Everblades (39-21-0-2) Saturday night at the North Charleston Coliseum. The victory moved the Stingrays into sole possession of first place in the South Division, two points ahead of second place Florida. The victory was also Head Coach Spencer Carbery's 200th behind the bench with the Stingrays.

South Carolina defenseman Wade Epp opened the scoring for the Stingrays at the 6:19 mark of the first period. Marcus Perrier moved the puck back to the left point. Epp stepped up and fired a slap shot that beat Florida goalie Anthony Peters under the catching glove to make it 1-0 Stingrays. The goal was Epp's 6th goal of the season.

Stingrays goaltender Vitek Vanecek would stand tall coming up with several fantastic saves, including robbing Maxime St. Cyr on a golden opportunity from the front of the net with his left pad. The Everblades had five power plays on the evening, and came up empty handed thanks to Vanecek and the Stingrays penalty kill.

The lone goal from Florida came in the second period on a bad bounce off South Carolina forward David Pacan. The puck deflected from behind the South Carolina goal and redirected off Pacan's body and into the net. Matt Stanisz was credited with his second goal of the season to tie the game, 1-1, at 11:09 of the second period.

The third period saw the Stingrays fire 14 shots at Peters and the Everblades. Staal, a former Everblades forward, scored his 11th goal of the season at the 14:24 mark courtesy of a great play from Pacan. With the puck behind the goal, Pacan out-muscled a Florida defender and stole the puck. He fed Staal on the right wing and he made no mistake, lifting a shot over Peters glove to give the Stingrays the lead late.

South Carolina outshot Florida 28-25 in the win. Through 63 games, the Stingrays sit at 82 points while Florida is at 80 points through 62 games. Tonight was the final matchup between the two clubs. South Carolina went 6-3-1-1 versus Florida this season.

Carbery's 200th win moved him to 200-115-36 all-time as Head Coach of South Carolina.

The Stingrays are at home tomorrow at 3:05 p.m. versus Greenville for Undie Sunday! Fans are encouraged to bring a packaged pair of new undergarments to throw on the ice after the Stingrays first goal for those in need. The afternoon also features $5 Kids Tickets and $5 Kids Meals as part of Crews Subaru and Charleston County Parks Family Days. Plus bring your skates and stick around after the game to Skate with the Rays! Fans are encouraged to call 843-744-2248 or visit StingraysHockey.com for more info.

Check out the South Carolina Stingrays Statistics



ECHL Stories from March 19, 2016


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