The Jacksonville Icemen (18-27-3-3, 42 pts) continue their road trip against the South Carolina Stingrays (31-11-5-1, 68 pts) at 7:05 p.m. tonight.
Heading into tonight's game, the Icemen have won three out of their last four as their push for the playoffs continue. The key to their recent success has come from goal scoring up and down the lineup and solid goaltending. Last game against the Admirals, five different skaters found the back of the net in a 5-2 win to move the team into sixth place in the South Division. Colton Phinney stepped up in net as Austin Lotz moved up to Manitoba in the AHL, stopping 34 shots on Wednesday night.
Tonight's game will be a big test for Jacksonville, as South Carolina is one of the hottest teams in the entire ECHL right now. In their past 10 games, the Stingrays have only lost twice in regulation, and have collected 15 points. Special teams have powered South Carolina at home, as the second-place Stingrays are at 20.8% on the power play and at 88.8% on the penalty kill at North Charleston Coliseum.
It's not the Stingrays' ability to score that's scary, but rather their intimidating defending and goaltending. South Carolina leads the league in goals allowed, averaging just 2.25 goals per game. They also have the best goalie tandem in the ECHL, as Parker Milner and Jeff Jakaitis are both in the top-5 in GAA.
Jacksonville will need to be on its A-game defensively to beat a challenging Stingrays team. Offensively, the Icemen have received some additional help, as it was announced yesterday that Cody Fowlie will be joining the team. Fowlie tallied 25 points at the University of Regina this season, including 11 goals.
Tune in tonight at 7:05 p.m. on ECHL TV as the Icemen look for their first win on the road against the Stingrays in the 2017-18 season, presented by Community First Credit Union.
Matchup Breakdown
Records:
Jacksonville Icemen: 18-27-3-3 (6th in South division)
South Carolina Stingrays: 31-11-5-1 (2nd in South division)
Power Play:
Icemen: 20/210 – 9.5% (27th in ECHL)
Stingrays: 30/186 – 16.1% (20th in ECHL)
Penalty Kill:
Icemen: 182/220 – 82.7% (14th in ECHL)
Stingrays: 175/191 – 91.6% (1st in ECHL)
Players to Watch:
#14 F Jimmy Lodge (JAX)
13G, 18A – 31 Pts, +18 Rating
In three games against South Carolina this season, Lodge has one goal and two assists.
#7 F Joey Leach (SCS)
4G, 13A – 17 Pts, +9 Rating
Leach has one goal and three assists in six games against Jacksonville.
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