April 15, 2010
by: Joe Shetrom
The South Carolina Stingrays saw their 2009-10 season come to an abrupt end Sunday night, following a dramatic five-game series against the Cincinnati Cyclones that included a trio of overtime finishes. Cincinnati, who took three of four meetings versus the Stingrays during the regular season, needed all five games of their American Conference quarterfinals series to move on to round two.
The fourth-seeded Rays (41-19-12, 94 points) and the fifth-seeded Cyclones (44-25-3, 91 points) met for the third straight postseason. In 2008, Chuck Weber’s club, led by David Desharnais and Cedrick Desjardins, dispatched SC in only five games in the American Conference Finals en route to a Kelly Cup Championship. Last year, it was South Carolina’s turn, sweeping the Cyclones in four games before toppling Alaska in the Kelly Cup Finals.
Kicking off the series in Cincinnati on Tuesday, the Rays looked to open the postseason with a win on foreign ice. And things got off to good enough start for the visitors, with Michael Dubuc converting South Carolina’s first power play chance at 4:07 of the opening period to grab a 1-0 lead. That would be the lone offensive highlight of the evening for Cail MacLean’s club, though, as the Cyclones stormed back with six unanswered goals to capture Game 1 by a 6-1 margin.
Barret Ehgoetz, Dustin Sproat, and a pair of goals each from Jimmy Kilpatrick and Brian O’Hanley, along with a 31-for-32 save performance by Jeremy Smith, enabled the Cyclones to grab a one-game-to-none advantage. Todd Ford, returned from the Portland Pirates one day prior, was shelled for six goals on 19 shots, easily one of his worst outings of the season.
Looking to square the series and earn a split in the Buckeye State, the Stingrays took to the ice on Wednesday with redemption on their minds. Taking a step in that direction, SC needed just 33 seconds to get on the scoreboard, with Rob Ricci burying a Matt Scherer feed to go up 1-love.
Just under five minutes later, at 5:29, Scherer added a goal on an assist from Johann Kroll, allowing the visitors to skate into the first intermission with a two goal lead. Keith Johnson’s power play marker at 6:20 of the second period put the Rays up by three before Kilpatrick tallied his third goal in two games at 11:44.
South Carolina kept Cincy at bay in the final stanza to pull out a 3-1 victory and steal home ice from the Cyclones. Ford, named the ECHL Goaltender of the Year on Thursday, rebounded from a forgettable Game 1 to sweep aside 25 of 26 and draw the Rays and Cyclones even at one game apiece. Smith, meanwhile, suffered the setback with 28 saves on 31 shots.
With the series shifting south for at least the next two contests, SC and Cincy locked horns in Game 3 Friday evening at the North Charleston Coliseum. Both teams combined for 45 shots over nearly 77 minutes before a victor was crowned, when Josh Heidinger, playing in just his second game as a pro, netted the game-winner at 16:49 of overtime.
Smith thwarted all 25 shots that came his way while Ford ended with 20 saves on 21 attempts.
Facing elimination on Saturday, the Stingrays looked for a win to force a decisive Game 5 on Sunday night.
For the third time in the series SC drew first blood, with Dylan Yeo opening the scoring at 11:21 of the first period. With just over a minute remaining in the first, however, Cincinnati knotted the score on Ehgoetz’s second at 18:58.
The Cyclones staked a 2-1 lead at 14:33 of the second, when Ian McKenzie hit paydirt on helpers from Ehgoetz and Will Ortiz. That advantage lasted for only 1:16, though, as Trevor Bruess connected for the Rays, forcing sudden death for a second straight contest.
In extra sessions, Gregg Johnson redirected a Derek Keller shot at 6:09 to close out a 3-2 victory and set up a final chapter for Sunday. Ford stopped 22 of 24 over 66-plus minutes of service while his counterpart, Smith, also denied 22 tries in the loss.
With all the marbles on the line, South Carolina and Cincinnati faced off one last time in Game 5. And for the third night in a row, a winner would be decided in overtime.
Ehgoetz laid claim to the contest’s first goal, beating Ford at the 2:46 mark of the first before Keith Johnson answered for the Rays under five minutes later at 7:08. Keller, coming off a three assist effort in Game 4, added to his playoff totals with a go-ahead marker at 2:06 of the second stanza, with playmakers credited to Trent Campbell and Gregg Johnson.
South Carolina and Ford managed to keep the crease clear over the ensuing 32 minutes, until Kilpatrick struck for the fourth time in the series at 14:28 of the third, setting up yet another sudden death. With 3:45 left in OT Ehgoetz finished off the Rays, who earlier in extra sessions failed to convert on a two-man advantage, tallying a power play goal to advance the Cyclones to the conference semifinals, where they’ll face the number-one seeded Charlotte Checkers.
Smith, who concluded the series with a sparkling 1.60 goals-against average, garnered the series-clinching win with a 32-save performance. At the other end of ice, Ford, who tasted success at the AHL level this season with Texas and Portland, absorbed the stinging defeat with 35 saves on 38 shots.
A hearty thank you goes out to everyone who followed the Rays this season, whether it was through stingrayshockey.com, online broadcasts, or the weekly roundups posted on the official website of the
Hershey Bears and Washington Capitals, respectively. Here’s hoping for an 11th Calder Cup in Chocolatetown, and a first Stanley Cup in the nation’s capital in 2010.
vs
