Following two losses to the Florida Everblades, the Jacksonville Icemen (22-31-4-3, 51 pts) look to rebound this afternoon against the South Carolina Stingrays (38-13-6-1, 83 pts) in North Charleston.
Similar to the Icemen, the Stingrays have played the previous two nights, with both games being at home. They fell to Greenville, but to the Icemen's favor, they shut out the Gladiators last night, 5-0. South Carolina is just one of three teams in the entire ECHL to have already clinched a spot in the upcoming playoffs. However, the Stingrays are still in a tight race for first place in the South Division, currently sitting five points behind Florida with one game in hand.
Despite not starting the weekend the way they would've liked to, the Icemen are still very much in the playoff battle. With 12 games to play, they're eight points behind fourth place Atlanta, but have two games in hand and two meetings with the Gladiators next week. The road won't be easy, and it's going to have to start today as the team kicks off a seven-game road trip against a team that's had a lot of success versus Jacksonville in the 2017-18 season, presented by Community First Credit Union.
In the previous seven meetings between these two South Division teams, the Stingrays have won five times. In fact, Jacksonville is looking for its first-ever win at the North Charleston Coliseum today, having gone 0-3-0 so far this season.
Tune into ECHL TV at 3:05 p.m. today as the Icemen skate into South Carolina for a matchup with the Stingrays.
Matchup Breakdown
Records:
Jacksonville Icemen: 22-30-4-3 (6th in South division)
South Carolina Stingrays: 38-13-6-1 (2nd in South division)
Power Play:
Icemen: 23/241 – 9.5% (27th in ECHL)
Stingrays: 38/223 – 17.0% (16th in ECHL)
Penalty Kill:
Icemen: 218/264 – 82.6% (16th in ECHL)
Stingrays: 203/26 – 89.8% (1st in ECHL)
Players to Watch:
#10 D Dajon Mingo (JAX)
5G, 16A – 21 Pts, +3 Rating
Mingo leads all active Icemen in scoring against the Stingrays this season with four points (2g-2a).
#26 F Dylan Margonari (SC)
14G, 22A – 36 Pts, +10 Rating
Margonari has been a thorn in the Icemen’s side, scoring twice and tallying three assists in five meetings against Jacksonville.
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