Milner Recalled By Hershey Bears

The Hershey Bears, the American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate of the South Carolina Stingrays, announced the recall of goaltender Parker Milner Wednesday. The 28-year-old netminder won his first game of the season for South Carolina in his second appearance on Tuesday night in Orlando, making 44 saves.In his place, the Stingrays have added goaltender Jeff Jakaitis to the roster as an emergency backup.Milner re-signed with Hershey for the 2018-19 season on June 6, his third consecutive campaign on a contract with the Bears. The Pittsburgh native was named the Warrior Hockey/ECHL Goaltender of the Year for his work in 2017-18, posting a 28-7-3 record. His goals against average of 1.86 was the best in the ECHL, and the fourth best in league history. He collected the third best save percentage in the league at .929 and recorded three shutouts, helping him earn All-ECHL First Team honors.The two-time national champion at Boston College has suited up for 11 games with Hershey over the past two seasons and posted a 4-6-1 record. In total, the 6-foot-1, 185-pound goaltender has played in 26 career AHL games with Hershey, Bridgeport, and Iowa, earning a 10-11-1 record to go along with a 3.27 goals against average and a .894 save percentage.Jakaitis returned to the Rays in 2017-18 after spending two seasons playing professionally in Norway. The former ECHL CCM Most Valuable Player MVP from the 2014-15 season previously played for South Carolina during three seasons from 2012-15 and helped lead the Stingrays to a Kelly Cup Finals appearance in 2015.A native of Rochester, Minn., Jakaitis has appeared in 231 ECHL contests with four different teams during his pro career. His MVP campaign consisted of a record of 26-8-1-1, a goals against average of 1.96 and a save percentage at 0.924 as well as seven shutouts.Before turning pro, Jakaitis, 34, played collegiately at Lake Superior State from 2003-07 as well as with the United States Hockey League’s (USHL) Waterloo Black Hawks.The Stingrays open their home schedule vs. Greenville on Saturday with Opening Night: Capitals Championship Celebration presented by STASH Storage at 7:05 p.m.Single-game tickets for all Stingrays home games during the 2018-19 season are on sale now at the North Charleston Coliseum Box Office and ticketmaster.com.Group tickets for 10 or more fans are on sale now featuring discounted pricing and great benefits! For more information and to place an order call the Stingrays front office at 843-744-2248 or stop by 3300 W. Montague Ave. Suite A-200 during business hours.For all the latest news and updates, head to StingraysHockey.com and follow the Stingrays on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.