Good to be back in central PA this morning after the Bears won in Portland and Manchester over the weekend. Good also to see Alex Giroux's 50th goal of the season yesterday, officially putting him in a group of goal scorers few can match in a Chocolate and White sweater.
We'll have lots of Giroux coverage coming up on "The Old Barn" later today. Other topics will include Mike Green's pursuit of 30 goals, Alex Ovechkin's 50th goal celebration, and a "revealing" look at a promotion the Las Vegas Wranglers are putting on. Plus, the Barn is now on Facebook, much like the Bears Radio Network page. Join the Barn and send us your questions for the show today. Punch in "The Old Barn Hockey Show" on Facebook and join up to chat today.
Here's Joe Shetrom's update from a very successful weekend for South Carolina too.
"The South Carolina Stingrays ran off a perfect mark this past week, producing three wins against the Mississippi Sea Wolves to up their record to 38-22-2-4 (82 points). With five games remaining on the regular season slate, Jared Bednar’s club has all but locked up second place in the ECHL’s South Division.
Beginning a weekend stretch of three games in three nights, South Carolina’s roster sported some new faces on Friday. Defenseman Dave Grimson and forward Mick Berge, making their professional debuts, earned nods in the starting lineup, as did Kip Brennan, assigned earlier in the day by Hershey. Midway through the first period, Travis Morin staked a 1-0 lead for the Rays, picking up a loose puck out front and depositing his 21st of the year. Berge, Morin’s teammate for two seasons at Minnesota State-Mankato, made it 2-0 at 11:18 of the second, wristing a shot that beat Sea Wolves goaltender Ryan Munce high on the short side. James Reimer and company tightened their grip on Mississippi, providing few decent scoring chances the entire night. Morin added an empty netter for good measure, securing not only a 3-0 win for the Stingrays but also a berth in the playoffs for the 15th time in 16 seasons. Reimer, on the heels of his first pro shutout five days prior, blanked an opponent for the second straight contest, turning aside all 29 shots faced. The shutout was South Carolina’s team-record eighth of the season, breaking the former mark established by the 2000-01 club that went on to capture its second Kelly Cup Championship.
Saturday brought the annual Stingrays Hall of Fame induction ceremony, with late owner Jerry Zucker receiving the prestigious honor this year. After the banners were unfurled during the first intermission, the Stingrays got back to business, which meant building on a 1-0 lead provided by Keith Johnson’s team-leading fourth short-handed goal of the year at 15:10 of the opening stanza. Johnson struck again in the second period, this time on the man advantage, redirecting Josh Godfrey’s blueline shot at 4:33. Mississippi mounted a comeback, though, connecting twice to knot the score at 2-2 after 40 minutes. Alexandre Parent’s left circle wrister at 15:25 found its mark, as did Chris Zarb’s right circle blast at 18:35, snapping Reimer’s shutout streak at 174:19, nearly three full games. Following a scoreless third, overtime loomed for the two clubs who were meeting for the 17th time in 2008-09. The Rays, handed just two power plays in regulation, received a pair of opportunities in sudden death. After failing to capitalize the first time on a Sea Wolves bench minor, South Carolina made good on the second go-around, with Mick Berge scoring his second goal in as many games to give the Stingrays a 3-2 win. Johnson earned an assist on the game-winner to cap a three-point night, garnering first star of the game accolades. Reimer ended with 30 saves to improve to 4-0 with SC while Munce, the ECHL leader in games (49), losses (20), minutes (2,923), and saves (1,668), suffered the setback with another solid effort.
Looking to complete the three-game weekend sweep, Bednar tapped Jonathan Boutin as the starter in goal on Sunday, giving James Reimer the night off. Former Bear Steffon Walby gave his oft-used netminder, Ryan Munce, a day of rest, inserting Central PA native John Murray between the pipes. Spencer Carbery, recipient of the first-ever Jerry Zucker Community Service Award the night before, buried a Nikita Kashirsky feed at 3:54 of the first period, giving the Rays a 1-0 advantage. Just over a minute into the second frame, Travis Morin swelled SC’s lead to two goals, redirecting Lyon Messier’s shot from the right point. With the marker, Morin became the first player to record back-to-back 80-point campaigns for the Stingrays since Dave Seitz in 2001-02 and 2002-03. Sixty-two seconds later, however, Mark Rooneem sliced South Carolina’s lead in half with the first of two markers on the evening. Matt Scherer regained a two-goal advantage at 8:18, besting Murray, a 2009 ECHL All-Star, on a stick side attempt. Following Rooneem’s second strike at 15:42, Pierre-Luc O’Brien solidified the two-goal buffer, taking a turnover into a breakaway and netting the Stingrays’ 16th short-handed marker of the year at 16:46. Despite Kip Brennan’s five minor penalties, including four power play opportunities for Mississippi, the Rays were able to quash each chance and come away with a 4-2 win, extending their point streak to a season-high eight games (7-0-0-1). Boutin, who had started 17 straight games prior to Reimer’s arrival two weeks ago, improved to 11-5-1 (21-9-3 overall), stopping 26 of 28. Murray, meanwhile, surrendered four goals to finish with 36 saves, dropping the Lancaster native to 0-2 with the Sea Wolves.
The Stingrays travel to Gwinnett, GA, for a pair of games against the Gladiators on Friday and Saturday before returning to the North Charleston Coliseum on Sunday to close out the home portion of their regular season schedule with a 5 pm faceoff with Mississippi.
