First up this morning, tickets for Hershey's first 2009 Calder Cup home playoff game go on sale this Friday, April 3 at 10 a.m. Given the demand for tickets in the second half of the season, you might want to get on that ASAP as the Bears look to make a lengthy run into springtime.
One last day at home for the staff and players before embarking on a four-game road trip this week. We'll be departing for Norfolk tomorrow, heading to Bridgeport Thursday and finishing the week in Wilkes-Barre Township Saturday night at 7:05 p.m. The finale of the road trip will also be the regular season finale for the Spectrum. America's showplace is done next Friday, amazing as that sounds. For all the hockey history that has taken place at the corner of Broad Street and Pattison Avenue, it's pretty humbling to think I'll be broadcasting the last regular season game (last game ever?) at such a place. Not long before he passed away, I had a chance to interview Gene Hart at a game in press row there. I'm sure he'll be looking in on us next Friday as we bring down the house.
"The Old Barn" takes to the air later today, with many topics of discussion as always. In the meantime, here's Joe Shetrom's update for us from South Carolina:
"The South Carolina Stingrays posted two wins against one loss this past week, upping their record to 40-23-2-4 (86 points). With just two games remaining in the regular season, the Washington and Hershey-affiliated Stingrays have clinched second place in the ECHL’s South Division and will face the Charlotte Checkers in the first round of the playoffs starting Apr. 9.
Looking to extend their point streak to a season-high nine games, the Stingrays trekked to Gwinnett, GA, for back-to-back contests against the fourth-place Gladiators. Jeff Corey, who missed the last two games with an upper body injury, kickstarted the offense, scoring his 18th of the year at 2:21 of the first period. Patrick Wellar made it 2-0, potting his first marker with South Carolina at 6:52. The Rays built a four-goal advantage in the second stanza, with Keith Johnson tallying a pair of lamp lighters two minutes apart, the fourth marker chasing former Stingray Josh Johnson from goal. Brandon Kaleniecki got Gwinnett on the board late in the second, registering the Gladiators’ only goal of the night at 18:36. Veteran blueliner Nate Kiser, returning to the lineup for the first time since Feb. 22, quickly regained SC’s four-goal lead, garnering his career-high 7th with 32 seconds left to make it 5-1 after 40 minutes. Travis Morin closed out the scoring, bagging his 24th of the season 64 ticks into the third period. Morin, who finished with three points (1g, 2a), posted a +4 plus/minus rating to increase his league lead to +35. Kiser, meanwhile, netted a Gordie Howe Hat Trick while Johnson totaled two goals and a playmaker. Jonathan Boutin, in net for the second straight contest, turned aside 38 of 39 to earn his 22nd win while his opposing goaltender, Johnson, suffered the loss with 11 saves in 29-plus minutes. Johnson’s replacement, Joe Fallon, allowed two goals on 13 shots faced. The Rays saw their streak of outshooting opponents end at 18 games, but they also surrendered one goal or less for the sixteenth time in 2008-09.
Returning to the Arena at Gwinnett Center for the backend of the two-game set with the Glads, the Stingrays sought their 40th victory of the campaign. And while Josh Godfrey was lost to an upper body injury suffered on Friday, the Rays welcomed defenseman Zach Tarkir, who had been with Portland since mid-December, back to the lineup. Unfortunately, on this night Gwinnett would not allow the Stingrays to continue their torrid pace, blistering SC for four power play markers en route to a 5-2 win. Things started off well enough for South Carolina, with Maxime Lacroix tallying his 32nd goal to give his club a 1-0 lead six minutes into the first period. The marker, Lacroix’s team-leading 13th power play goal, was assisted by Travis Morin, who matched the single-season team record with his ECHL-leading 60th playmaker of the season. Dirk Southern and Adam Berti notched man advantage markers before Pierre-Luc O’Brien scored a power play goal six minutes into the second, knotting the contest at 2-2. Tom Zanoski regained the upper hand for Gwinnett midway through the period before Brandon Kaleniecki and Jordan Fox added some insurance in the third to put the game out of reach for the visiting Rays. Jonathan Boutin was saddled with the defeat, stopping 27 of 32 shots on his 24th birthday. Joe Fallon, meanwhile, atoned for the half dozen goals allowed the night prior, registering 25 saves as the Gladiators extended their lead to four points over Mississippi for the fourth and final playoff berth in the South Division.
Taking to the ice for the regular season home finale, South Carolina met the Mississippi Sea Wolves for the nineteenth and final time on Sunday. Continuing a trend in the season series, the Rays scored first, with Maxime Lacroix connecting for his 33rd on a left circle shot at 17:47 of the opening period. Mike Berry chalked up the equalizer less than seven minutes into the second, but Mississippi would come up empty handed the rest of the way. Keith Johnson converted a power play chance at 14:43, staking the Stingrays with a one-goal lead after forty minutes. Matt Scherer provided some breathing room in the third period, beating Sea Wolves goalie Ryan Munce on a five-hole attempt at 15:05 to elevate SC to a 3-1 advantage. The Rays killed all three penalties and withstood 24 shots in the third to solidify their 40th win of the campaign, making Jared Bednar the first coach in team history to record 40-plus victories in his first two seasons behind the bench. Travis Morin generated two more assists to increase his single-season team record to 62. James Reimer, who allowed four goals in Toronto’s 5-2 loss in Wilkes-Barre on Saturday, returned and improved to 5-0 with a 43-save performance for South Carolina. In his five starts with the Stingrays Reimer has stopped 160 of 167 shots (95.8%), including a pair of shutouts.
South Carolina closes the book on the regular season this week, traveling to Charlotte on Wednesday before the curtain falls Friday in Gwinnett. "
