Stingrays Take Over ECHL Points Lead With 4-1 Win

The South Carolina Stingrays (29-5-3-1) got ahead early with two goals in the first and defeated the Jacksonville Icemen (12-20-4-0) by a final score of 4-1 for their fourth straight win on Friday night at the North Charleston Coliseum.BOX SCORE

The victory gave South Carolina 62 total points in the standings, which leads the ECHL. The Rays are now 13-4-0 at home in North Charleston this season.

Andrew Cherniwchan led the way offensively on Friday with two goals and an assist, while both Cole Ully and Matt Nuttle each had two assists and goaltender Logan Thompson picked up the victory after making 26 saves.

Forward Jonathan Charbonneau scored just 1:27 into the contest to give the Rays a 1-0 advantage. Cherniwchan had the puck behind the net and moved it to Ully on the goal line, who then fed Charbonneau between the circles for a quick wrist shot.

A second-year attacker, Charbonneau now has goals in three straight games and points in 11 of his last 13 contests.

In the final minute of the first period, Cherniwchan outwaited goaltender Griffen Outhouse and used a wrister to put the puck up high and into the Jacksonville net for a 2-0 score. Assists on the goal went to Ully and Nuttle.

Early in the second, defenseman Kristofers Bindulis extended the SC lead to 3-0 with a power play goal on a one-timer from forward Max Novak at 1:27. The second assist on the defender’s third tally of the season went to forward Dylan Steman.

After Jacksonville cut the Rays’ advantage to 3-1 on a goal by Adam Dauda at 1:12 of the third, South Carolina responded while on the penalty kill for their final goal of the night.

With Dan DeSalvo in the box for hooking, Matt Nuttle got hold of a puck in the defensive zone and sent forward Tim Harrison free on a partial breakaway. After slowing down in the offensive zone, Harrison made a quick pass to Cherniwchan for a chance on net. The team captain’s initial shot was stopped, but he was able to put home the rebound at 7:14 of the third for his second goal of the night and 17th tally of the season.

South Carolina finished 1-for-2 on the man-advantage in the game, while holding Jacksonville 0-for-4. The Rays outshot the Icemen 38-27 overall in the contest and Outhouse ended with 34 saves in a losing effort.

NEXT GAMEThe Stingrays host their annual Military Appreciation Night on Saturday against the Atlanta Gladiators at 6:05 p.m. Click here for more information about the specialty night!—Tickets for all of South Carolina’s upcoming 2019-20 home contests are on sale now via Ticketmaster.

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