April 5, 2010
by: Joe Shetrom
The South Carolina Stingrays concluded the 2009-10 regular season with three straight wins over the Gwinnett Gladiators, finishing with a 41-19-12 record and 94 points to place tied for first in the South Division. The Charlotte Checkers, however, also ended with 94 points, claiming the division title as well as the number one seed in the American Conference by virtue of wins (43). The fourth-seeded Stingrays will face the fifth-seeded Cincinnati Cyclones in the first round, marking the third straight year the last two Kelly Cup champions have met in the postseason.
Starting the first of three contests in Gwinnett on Wednesday, the Rays wasted no time getting on the scoreboard, tallying on their opening shift. Rob Ricci lit the lamp for the 25th time this season at the 27-second mark, with assists going out to Spencer Carbery and Johann Kroll.
The second line to hit the ice produced the same result just 17 ticks later, as Gregg Johnson made it 2-0 on helpers from David de Kastrozza, who was making his professional debut, and Michael Dubuc. Midway through the second period Keith Johnson stretched SC’s lead to three goals, collecting his 28th, a power play marker, at 10:35 on playmakers from Trent Campbell and Dylan Yeo, playing his first ECHL game in over a month.
Campbell goals at 13:03 of the second and 14:20 of the third stanza sandwiched Gwinnett’s lone goal, an Adam Berti even strength tally at 6:47 of the third, giving the Stingrays a 5-1 triumph. Goaltender Beau Erickson, in his Rays debut, swept aside 26 of 27 for the win. David Brown, meanwhile, surrendered five goals on 32 shots in defeat for the Glads.
On Friday, Campbell and South Carolina again spent little time breaking a scoreless affair, burying a goal only 13 seconds into play. Gregg Johnson and Nikita Kashirsky scored 35 seconds apart in the second to elevate SC to a three-goal advantage before Mike McLean, Daniel Sullivan, and Scott Mifsud ran off three unanswered goals for Gwinnett in the final frame.
Campbell, the team leader in assists (48), points (68), and plus/minus rating (+24), bookended the contest’s scoring with his 20th, the game-winner, at 17:04, elevating the Rays to their 40th victory of the campaign, the tenth time in 17 seasons the team has hit the 40-win mark. Shane Connelly earned the win with a 32-for-35 save effort while Brown allowed four markers on 33 shots.
Looking to close the curtain on their 72-game season with a victory on Saturday, the Stingrays would go without the first-year pro Kashirsky, who garnered a one-game suspension for a slew-footing major penalty the night prior. His services would not be needed, though, as South Carolina collected a pair of first period goals, separated by 11 seconds, by Gregg Johnson and Derek Keller, who struck for his first pro marker at 17:05.
Yeo, who led all Stingrays defensemen in goals and points, registered his 14th lamp-lighter midway through the second period, beating Brown, in net for the third consecutive game. SC, playing disciplined hockey, shut down Gwinnett’s offense over the course of sixty minutes while giving the home team only one power play opportunity.
Erickson, in his second start, faced just ten shots, a franchise low for the Gladiators, turning aside every one as the Rays closed the book on a stellar regular season with a 3-0 shutout, Erickson’s first as a pro and the club’s sixth of 2009-10.
South Carolina begins the best-of-five series against the Cyclones in the Buckeye State with Games 1 and 2 on Tuesday and Wednesday, respectively, before returning home to the North Charleston Coliseum for Game 3 on Friday and, if necessary, Games 4 (Saturday) and 5 (Sunday).
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