I'll have more later on from the War Memorial (very strange to be playing on Monday!), but in the meantime, here's Joe Shetrom's South Carolina update. BTW, Dan Bylsma makes his NHL coaching debut this afternoon at 2:00 as Pittsburgh takes on the New York Islanders.

"The South Carolina Stingrays posted a 2-1 mark this past week, upping their record to 26-19-2-3 on the year. Jared Bednar’s club remains in second place in the ECHL’s South Division, 15 points behind the front-running Florida Everblades and three points ahead of third place Charlotte.

Fresh off a pair of wins against Florida, the Stingrays took to the ice Tuesday night at the North Charleston Coliseum, looking to pocket their third straight win since late December. SC’s opponents, the Charlotte Checkers, were coming off a big win at home against Florida two days prior, and were bolstered by former Bear Maxime Daigneault’s reassignment from the Hartford Wolf Pack. Chris Capraro and the Checkers jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the first, burying a penalty shot attempt at 11:08. Two minutes later rookie Maxime Lacroix knotted the score, picking up a loose puck in front of Daigneault and depositing his 23rd of the year. Michael Dubuc, the reigning ECHL Player of the Week, earned a playmaker on the tally, extending his point streak to six games (7g, 4a). Trent Campbell made it 2-1 at 8:10 of the second period, collecting his sixth point in three games since rejoining the club from Portland. Capraro potted his second of the game two minutes later, a power play marker with assists from former Bears Jeff Miles and Brad Ralph, tying the contest at 2-2. Ralph and Miles teamed up again for Charlotte’s third goal at 15:39 before Michel Leveille gave the Checkers a two-goal lead at 14:10 of the third. Nate Kiser, who ranks among the club leaders in all-time games (sixth) and penalty minutes (third), got South Carolina within one score with a blast from the point at 15:55. Even with goalie Jonathan Boutin pulled for the final 80 seconds, however, the Rays were unable to solve Daigneault for a fourth time, falling to Charlotte 4-3.

Hitting the road for their only away game of the week, the Stingrays ventured into the Arena at Gwinnett Center Saturday evening to face Jeff Pyle’s Gladiators. SC enjoyed a two-goal advantage through the early going of the opening stanza, with Scott Romfo and Matt Scherer putting pucks past former Rays goaltender Josh Johnson less than two minutes apart. South Carolina equaled that effort in the second period, as Dubuc and Keith Johnson (short-handed) upped the score to 4-1. After Jordan Fox cut the lead in half on a penalty shot goal at 8:14, SC poured it on during the latter half of third, tying a season high by amassing five goals in the span of eight minutes to claim their 25th win of the season, 9-3. The nine markers were the most the Rays have ever scored on Gwinnett, in a building that has been none too kind to South Carolina over the years. Seven different skaters led the goal-scoring assault on the Glads, including Johnson and Scherer, who each totaled a game-high three points. Boutin improved to 3-2 with SC while Johnson, who opened the campaign with the Stingrays, allowed all nine goals to drop to 10-9-1.

Rounding out the week’s schedule was the Mississippi Sea Wolves, who bested Charlotte in a shootout two nights prior. South Carolina mirrored their first period effort from the previous game, taking a 2-0 lead after 20 minutes. Keith Johnson bagged a short-handed marker, the Rays’ league-leading 12th of the season, for the second straight contest before Josh Godfrey’s rocket from the point with under a minute to play in the first. The Sea Wolves tallied the lone goal in the second frame, Jason Tejchma’s 15th at 8:38, before tying the game at deuces on Jeremy Hall’s sixth at 11:22 of the third. But even with the contest heading to overtime, South Carolina would not this one slip out of their hands. Michael Dubuc’s shot from the right point with a minute remaining in sudden death found its mark, and the Stingrays escaped with a 3-2 win at home. Dubuc’s 30th of the campaign extended his point streak to eight games (9g, 4a), and upped his game-winning goal total to five, tops on the Rays. Travis Morin dished out two more helpers, and the ECHL All-Star now sits atop the league leaderboard with 43 assists. Second-year pro Pierre-Luc O’Brien added his 11th point in five games, setting up Godfrey’s first period power-play marker. Jonathan Boutin (4-2, 14-6-2 overall) ended with 23 saves while his counterpart, Ryan Munce, stopped 40 of 43 shots faced. SC is now 6-1-0-1 this season at home against Steffon Walby’s Sea Wolves, and 7-3-1-1 overall, with seven head-to-head matchups remaining on the slate.

The Stingrays begin a four-game northern swing Wednesday night in Dayton, OH, looking to best a Bombers team that has taken two consecutive meetings. SC hits the Keystone State for the first of two games on Friday, facing the North Division-leading Johnstown Chiefs in their only get-together of the season. The Stingrays then head to Trenton to lock horns with the Devils on Saturday, hoping to snap a five-game losing streak against their 2001 Kelly Cup Finals opponent. The Sovereign Center in Reading serves as the final stop on the trip, a 5:05 pm faceoff Sunday versus the Toronto-affiliated Royals. The two teams have not met in nearly two years, when the Rays took a pair on home ice in March 2007."