ECHL South Carolina Stingrays

Stingrays Double Up Chiefs 6-3

February 20, 2009 - ECHL (ECHL)
South Carolina Stingrays News Release


Johnstown, PA - The South Carolina Stingrays got a pair of goals in each period, as they defeated the Northern Division leading Johnstown Chiefs 6-3 at the Cambria County War Memorial.

"We came out really strong tonight," said Head Coach Jared Bednar. "Our defense got a little tired by the third period, which is to be expected, but they came out to play tonight and got a big win."

It was a wild first period of play, as the Rays saw leads of 1-0 and 2-1 slip away before the period came to a close. Keith Johnson got things started for the Rays as he got his 16th goal of the year, his fifth in the last four games, to give the Rays the early lead. The goal came at the 1:14 mark of the period and was assisted by Maxime Lacroix and Travis Morin. Ryan Card's goal at 10:17 tied the game up for the Chiefs, but the Rays answered back quickly with their second goal of the period. Less than a minute later, at 11:01, Pierre-Luc O'Brien notched his 13th goal of the year, a one timer off a pass from Trent Campbell from behind the net. Back to back power play goals by Johnstown, by Trevor Hendrikx and Andrew Sarauer, made it a 3-2 deficit for the Rays going into the second period.

The Rays stormed back in the second period, due in large part to Nate Kiser and his bomb of a shot from the point. At the 3:57 mark of the Kiser fired a shot from the far side point that was kicked away by Ian Keserich. But the rebound from the shot found its way right onto the stick of Michael Dubuc, and Dubuc did what he does best, throw it in the net, tying this game up 3-3. The goal, Dubuc's 32nd of the season, was assisted by Kiser and Morin. Just over four minutes later, at the 8:01 mark, the Rays took their third lead of the night. This time, Kiser's shot from the far side point found its way past Keserich and into the net, making it a 4-3 Stingrays lead. The goal, Kiser's sixth of the year, came on the power play and was assisted by Mike Curry and Scott Romfo.

The third period remained a close affair until Lacroix was able to give the Rays some breathing room. Still a one goal game, Lacroix was able to keep the puck in the zone, and fired an awkward angled shot that made its way past Keserich to make it a 5-3 score. The unassisted goal came at 14:51 and was his 24th goal of the year. Later in the period, while on the penalty kill, the Rays got a short handed goal to make it 6-3, the eventual final. The goal came at 19:39, off the stick of Morin, with the lone assist going to Campbell.

The winning goaltender was Jonathan Boutin who stopped 25 of the 28 shots he faced. The losing goaltender was Keserich who stopped 29 of the 34 shots he faced. The Rays went 1-3 on the power play while killing off four of the six short handed situations they faced.

The Rays will be back in action tomorrow night as they continue their Northern swing by taking on the Trenton Devils at 7:00 P.M. You can hear the game live on ESPN Radio 910 the TEAM starting with the Benitos Pre-game show beginning at 6:45.

It's just eight days until the Rays paint the ice pink for "Pink in the Rink" night on Saturday, February 28 to help fight cancer. Don't forget to get your tickets and "Pink Packs" by calling the Stingrays' office at 744-2248. Together we can help knock out cancer in the Low Country.

Don't miss all the fast-paced, hard-hitting action! 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.

Full and partial season tickets 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



ECHL Stories from February 20, 2009


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