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Home Sweet Home
South Carolina returns to the Coliseum, earns its first win of series
By Andrew Miller (Contact)
The Post and Courier
Thursday, May 15, 2008
Stingrays 5, Cyclones 4 (OT)
There's no such thing as a bad shot in overtime. Just ask South Carolina Stingrays winger Trent Campbell.
Campbell scored the game-winner 2:03 into overtime to lead South Carolina past Cincinnati, 5-4, Wednesday night in Game 3 of the ECHL Kelly Cup playoffs American Conference finals before a crowd of 3,201 at the North Charleston Coliseum.
The Cyclones lead the best-of-seven hockey series, 2-1, with Game 4 set for Friday night at 7 p.m. at the North Charleston Coliseum.
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South Carolina hosts Cincinnati in Game 3
South Carolina Stingrays hosts Cincinnati Cyclones in Game 3 of the Kelly Cup playoffs American Conference finals.
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South Carolina, which is 10-0 at home during the postseason, dominated most of the action outshooting the Cyclones, 44-24, during the game.
But it took Campbell's deflection to get the Stingrays back into the series after dropping the first two games at U.S. Bank Arena in Cincinnati.
Steve Pinizzotto got the puck on the left boards and blasted a shot on net that Campbell deflected between the legs of Cincinnati goalie Maxime Daigneault for the winning score.
"I didn't really shoot it, I just tipped it, but it went in, and that's all that really matters," said Campbell, who notched his second game-winning overtime goal of the playoffs. "Steve threw it on net and my stick was in the right place and it went between his legs and we got a lucky bounce."
Much like Game 2 in Cincinnati, the Stingrays controlled the game at even strength with the Cyclones, keeping their scoring chances to a minimum.
"I thought for the most part we did OK defensively," said Stingrays coach Jared Bednar. "They are a lethal team when they cycle the puck down low and I thought we did a good job of clogging up those chances. The shots on goal can be kind of a deceiving statistic. Twenty-four shots is certainly a good number, but we still allowed them too many quality scoring chances for my liking."
Offensively, the Stingrays had plenty of puck possession and had double-digit shots in each of the three periods against Daigneault, who played for the Stingrays from 2004-06.
"Our motto tonight was get pucks and traffic on net," Bednar said. "Five-on-five, I thought we did a good job of getting pucks on net for most of the game. The only time we really didn't do a good job of getting the puck to the net was on our power play and I think that's why we didn't have a power-play goal tonight."
It was a gritty effort from the Stingrays, especially in the third period when they fought back from 3-2 and 4-3 deficits to tie the game.
"We knew we had to get this game. We couldn't go down to them 3-0 in the series," said Stephen Werner, who had a goal and an assist. "We had a couple of huge goals in the third period where we answered them right after they scored. Cincinnati is a team that scores in bunches, so it was really, really important for us to answer every time they scored."
The Stingrays grabbed a 1-0 lead on Pierre-Luc O'Brien's second goal of the playoffs. Trent Campbell picked up a loose puck in the Stingrays' offensive zone and took a hard wrist shot that Daigneault failed to control. O'Brien drove the net and knocked it past Daigneault from just outside the crease for the score 2:14 into the first period.
The Cyclones tied the game at 1 on Bryan Schmidt's power play goal three minutes later. South Carolina pushed its advantage to 2-1 on Werner's even-strength goal early in the second period. After a turnover in neutral ice, Werner came down on the right side and wristed a shot from an awkward angle just before on the goal line on the right half-boards. The puck hit Daigneault in the pads, but somehow skipped up and rickled past him for the score with 15:18 left in the second period.
The Cyclones tied the game at 2 on Olivier Latendresse's power-play goal midway through the second period.
The Cyclones took a 3-2 lead on Thomas Beauregard's even strength goal just 2:37 into the third period. Beauregard's goal chased Johnson from the South Carolina net as veteran Davis Parley, who gave up 11 goals in the first two games of the series, replaced the Stingrays' rookie goalie.
The Stingrays answered almost immediately as Andrew Gordon one-timed a pass from Werner past Daigneault just 50 seconds later to tie the game at 3.
Cincinnati took a 4-3 lead on Jean-Michel Daoust's wrist shot with 2:42 left in regulation.
But again, the Stingrays answered as Chris Chaput scored just 23 seconds later to tie the game at 4 with 2:19 left in regulation and send the game into overtime.
First Period: 1. SC, O'Brien 2 (Campbell, Kiser), 2:14. 2. C, Schmidt 3 (Daoust, Deshamais), 5:51. Penalties: Bench minor, SC (too many men on the ice), 4:31; Latendresse, C (hooking), 12:02; Werner, SC (interference), 12:36; Guerin, SC (interference), 16:52.
Second Period: 3. SC, Werner 6 (McNeill), 4:42. 4. C, Latendresse 6 (Deitsch, Macdonald), 11:26. Penalties: Gleed, C (hooking), 6:17; Guerin, SC (slashing), 11:10; Deshamais, C (cross checking), 18:12.
Third Period: 5. C, Beauregard 9 (Ehgoetz), 2:37. 6. SC, Gordon 2 (Werner, Gurein), 3:22. 7. C, Daoust 2 (Desharmais, Starling), 17:18. 8. SC, Chaput 5 (MacLean, Morin), 17:41. Penalties: Romfo, SC (interference), 4:30; Gleed, C (slashing), 8:36; Syroczcynski, C (hooking), 11:10.
Overtime: 9. SC, Campbell 6 (Pinizzotto, Romfo), 2:03. Penalties: No penalties.
Shots on goal: SC 13-14-16-1-44; Cincinnati: 6-8-8-2-24. Penalties: SC 5-10; Cincinnati 5-10. Power play: SC 0 of 5; Cincinnati 2 of 5. Goalies: SC - Josh Johnson (3-2-1) 15 shots, 12 saves. Davis Parley (7-5-0) 9 shots, 8 saves. Cin — Maxime Diagneault (5-2-0) 44 shots, 39 saves. Att: 3,201.
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Stingrays Triumphant in Overtime, 5-4 Over Cyclones
05/14/2008 9:46 PM
North Charleston, SC – The South Carolina Stingrays got a game tying goal with just over two minutes left to go in the game, and got the game winning goal from Trent Campbell in overtime to get their first win of the series.
“I really liked the way we played on offense tonight,” said Head Coach Jared Bednar. “The guys knew they could come back and win tonight.”
The South Carolina Stingrays got out to a quick start in the first period and took and early 1-0 lead on Pierre-Luc O’Brien’s second goal of the playoffs. The goal came off a rebound from Trent Campbell’s shot and was assisted by Campbell as well as Nate Kiser at 2:14. After taking a too many men on the ice penalty, the Stingrays found themselves in a tie game on a power play goal by Bryan Schmidt.
The second period eerily mirrored the first as South Carolina came out fast and took the lead. This time it was Stephen Werner getting on the board at 4:42, his sixth goal of the playoffs. The lone assist was from Grant McNeill and gave the Rays a 2-1 lead. But, a power play goal by Olivier Latendresse tied the game up at two after two periods of play.
The third period featured the Cyclones coming out to a fast start and taking their first lead of the game. Thomas Beauregard scored his ninth goal of the playoffs at 2:37 giving Cincinnati a 3-2 lead. After the goal, Josh Johnson was taken out of the game in favor of Davis Parley. The Stingrays responded quickly scoring less than a minute later on a one timer by Andrew Gordon at 3:22. Werner and Marty Guerin got the assists on the goal tying the game up at three. Late in the period however Cincinnati took the lead once again. At 17:18 Jean-Michel Daoust got his second goal of the playoffs, both against South Carolina. The Stingrays wasted no time in tying things up, in fact, it took just :23 seconds. At 17:41 Chris Chaput got his fifth goal of the playoffs from Cail MacLean and Travis Morin to tie the game up at four, forcing overtime.
In overtime Trent Campbell tipped a shot from Steve Pinizzotto past Maxime Daigneault at 2:03 to win the game for the Rays. The goal was assisted by Pinizzotto and Scott Romfo and was Campbell’s sixth goal of the playoffs.
The winning goaltender was Davis Parley who stopped eight of the nine shots he faced in 19:26 after coming in for Josh Johnson. The losing goaltender was Daigneault who stopped 39 of the 44 shots that he faced. The Rays went 0-5 on the power play while killing off three of the five short handed situations they faced.
The Rays will now look to tie things up at 2 with game four on Friday night at 7:05. Don’t forget that Friday there will be free parking at the Coliseum.
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!
Congratulations on your team's victory. One thing conspicuously absent from your game story was the attendance, which according to the Post and Courier. That's an awfully small crowd for a game in the finals, isn't it?
By the way, I mentioned in my response one of your posts a couple of weeks ago that I would find out how many Stingrays season ticket holders were from Beaufort. I heard back the following week from the ticket office, and there are "about 10" from Beaufort. That isn't a number says to me that we should start providing coverage of this team. I know you and your husband follow the team closely, but with all due respect, in our entire readership, which covers all of northern Beaufort County, I don't think you have much company.
Attendance 3200. Not bad for a wednesday night. Friday and Saturday games usually get about 5000-7000 per game.
The others that I know that attend from Beaufort are not Season Ticket holders, so it is nice to know that there are 8 more besides me and my husband.
I haven't brought up your lack of coverage anymore. Do you want me to stop blogging about the Stingrays? It's your blog, I'll stop if you want me to.
Feel free to blog away on the Stingrays. We can agree to disagree, though, on how much interest there is in the team in Beaufort. I don't think 3,200 for a game in the finals is a good number, regardless of the night of the week. That shows me the team isn't overwhelmingly popular even in Charleston, much less Beaufort.
But for your sake, I hope they win.
We have the largest fan base in the ECHL south division (according to what I have read on other team websites). The Texas Wildcatters just folded. Even though they were the #1 team, they only drew a crowd of about 800 per game. Our 3200 attendance was better than the entire league average of 3100 per game.
Free Parking Friday in Honor of Stingrays Week
05/13/2008 3:27 PM
North Charleston, SC – The South Carolina Stingrays Vice President of Marketing, Sales and Operations Steve Fraser and Director of Public and Community Relations Ashley Hoffman accepted a proclamation from the City of North Charleston on behalf of the team during the city council meeting on Thursday.
Mayor Keith Summey presented the proclamation, which congratulated the team on a terrific season and wished the team future success in the playoffs. The proclamation also declared that the current week is “South Carolina Stingrays Week” in the City of North Charleston in celebration of the team’s quest for their third Kelly Cup.
Mayor Summey read the resolution, which recognized the Stingrays for giving North Charleston “not only title seasons, but consistent winning seasons” and wished the Stingrays luck in returning the Kelly Cup to the Lowcountry. Following the reading of the proclamation, Mayor Summey announced that Friday night will be free parking at the Coliseum in honor of South Carolina Stingrays Week.
“This was a tremendous honor for the Stingrays to be recognized by the City of North Charleston,” said President Darren Abbott. “Our entire organization takes great pride in representing the North Charleston area and we really appreciate the community’s constant support.”
The Stingrays recently completed an exciting season which saw first-year Head Coach Jared Bednar lead the team to a 47-22-3 record, most wins in the team’s history, and a 12-game winning streak, which broke the previous record of ten, set during the 2004-05 season.
Led by the veteran leadership of Cail MacLean and Nate Kiser along with the impact of rookies Travis Morin, Pierre-Luc O’Brien and Marty Guerin, the Stingrays are in the American Conference Finals for the first time since 2001, when the team went on the win their second Kelly Cup.
Note: The complete Proclamation to follow
PROCLAMATION
_______
WHEREAS, The City of North Charleston has been thrilled to host the South Carolina Stingrays for fifteen years; and
WHEREAS, Winner of two Kelly Cup Championships, the Stingrays have given North Charleston, not only title seasons, but consistent winning seasons; and
WHEREAS, With phenomenal displays of athleticism and sportsmanship the South Carolina Stingrays have dazzled the Lowcountry and awed crowds at the North Charleston Coliseum since 1993; and
WHEREAS, The South Carolina Stingrays will face the Cincinnati Cyclones, after defeating the Columbia Inferno, and will be a part of only four teams remaining in the quest for the Kelly Cup; and
WHEREAS, We wish our Stingrays the best of luck and hope to see the Kelly Cup returned to North Charleston for the third time.
NOW THEREFORE, be it resolved that I, R. Keith Summey, Mayor of the City of North Charleston, do hereby proclaim the week of May 11 through May 17 as
SOUTH CAROLINA STINGRAYS WEEK
In North Charleston and urge all to show their support by coming out in force to cheer on the home team towards another championship.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of the City of North Charleston, State of South Carolina, to be affixed hereto this 8th day of May, 2008.
I am glad to see that you are blogging about the Rays. For anyone who hasnt gone to game you dont know what you are missing. It is a shame that the paper doesnt report on things but whatever.
Keep it up Palmettocrab!
See you at the games!!! LETS GO RAYS!!!!!!
Oh and I really wish they would let Griff play tonight or tomorrow!!!