The Inferno Live to See Another Day

(Video courtesy of B2Networks)

The Stingrays were up against a team facing elimination, not only with their season on the line but possibly their franchise as well. The Columbia Inferno returned home Friday night trailing two games to none in the South Division Finals. Another loss and who knows when we might see the Inferno again as they will not be competing in the ECHL next season while they attempt to find a new arena to play in. In addition to that, the Carolina Coliseum's small ice surface, with a quality that makes the Verizon Center's ice sheet look state of the art, greatly favored the home team on their way to a 5-3 win in game 3.

Travis Morin had two 1st period power play goals for the 'Rays, but the Inferno also tallied two goals with the extra man as the teams finished the opening frame tied 2-2. The goals give Morin 9 so far in the post-season, a total that ties him with teammate Marty Guerin for the league lead.

The Inferno jumped ahead 3-2 just 2:28 into the 2nd period on a goal by Liam Huculak. But the Stingrays responded a little over halfway through the middle frame on a shorthanded goal by Trent Campbell, his 4th of the playoffs.

The game stayed tied until just under five minutes to go when Peter Tsimikalis scored directly off an offensive faceoff win for the Inferno, giving them a 4-3 lead. The Stingrays tried to rally late but an empty net goal by Tsimikalis put the game out of reach, meaning that game 4 will take place Saturday night with the 'Rays now holding a 2-1 series lead.

Check out the highlights of the game above which included a couple good fights at the end.

Stingrays Advance, Bears Live to Fight Another Day

The South Carolina Stingrays jumped out to a 2-0 lead, then held on for dear life to advance to the next round of the ECHL playoffs, the South Division Finals.

Late in the 1st period Matt Scherer tallied his 1st goal of the playoffs to put the Stingrays on top. Then in the 2nd period Capitals' prospect Travis Morin notched his 6th goal of the postseason, on the power play, to give SC the worst lead in hockey, a two goal lead. Goaltender Davis Parley made it stand up though, despite the fact the Gwinnett Gladiators outshot the Stingrays 20-6 in the final frame, they could not beat the 25-year old netminder. Parley had his 1st shutout of the postseason, his 5th of the season, and South Carolina survived another game 5 for the second straight series. They will face the winner of the Texas-Columbia series which is surprisingly enough, headed to a game 5 even though the Wildcatters finished the regular season with a 38 point lead over the Inferno. I guess that is why they play the games, right?

The Hershey Bears got some help from a familiar face in Eric Fehr on their way to 3-2 win over the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. Fehr, who had just returned to the Bears following the Capitals playoff exit, provided two helpers, including the game-winner, 20 seconds into overtime on Alexandre Giroux's 2nd goal of the game. The Bears will now head back to Wilkes-Barre for game 5 with their backs still against the wall trailing the Penguins 3 games to 1.

"Don't Stop Believin"

CapitalFanatic.com Visits the Stingrays

Capital Fanatic

Charleston, SCThe Stingrays won in dramatic fashion Saturday night. Travis Morin tallied what seemed to be the game winner halfway through the third period on a power play wrist shot from the slot. But a turnover by defenseman Nate Kiser led to the tying goal with a little bit less than five minutes to go. Kiser would redeem himself in overtime as he notched the game winner on a "laser" of a shot from the point as described by head coach Jared Bednar. For the complete game recap check out the Charleston Post and Courier. Also, this is a good chance to welcome Andrew Miller into the blogosphere with his blog Rays the Roof covering everything about the South Carolina Stingrays.

(Stingrays Head Coach Jared Bednar behind the bench)

Here was coach Jared Bednar's thoughts on the win after the game:



Having won their 5th straight playoff game, here is Bednar's response to the question of whether his team has a can't loose mentality:



Bednar's thoughts on Monday night's game at Gwinnett and the chance to close out the Gladiators:



Bednar on the team's first line and also the unsung heroes of the game:



Bednar on the Capitals prospects (Travis Morin, Sean Collins, Sasha Pokulok, and Stephen Werner) in South Carolina:



Bednar on the Caps run at the end of the season:



And lastly, the Stingrays found themselves in the same position the Caps are in during their 1st round matchup with the Augusta Lynx, having to win 3 straight games in order to advance. Here is Bednar's advice for the Caps:



Here are some photos of the Caps prospects from the game:


Sasha Pokulok


Travis Morin


Stephen Werner

So while the Caps are battling in Philadelphia tonight, keep an eye on the Stingrays boxscore as they try to sweep the Gladiators and move on to the next round.

Sunday Thoughts

The Capitals have won three straight and find themselves only three points back of the division leading Hurricanes. And with that important note, here are my "Sunday Thoughts":

• What an important and opportunistic week this will be for the Caps. They go into Monday night's matchup in Pittsburgh having lost six straight games to the Penguins. However, this isn't the same Washington team and they won't be facing the same Pittsburgh team. Sidney Crosby is out indefinitely (a month, perhaps even more) with the dreaded high ankle sprain. Following that, the Caps begin a home-and-home series with the lowly Toronto Maple Leafs. Six more points adding up to a six game winning streak is not out of the question. My prediction: Washington will be the division leader by the end of the week.

• Viktor Kozlov broke out of his season long goal scoring slump by tallying twice in last night's victory. The success of Washington's second half of the season can be helped dramatically by the improved scoring output of the big russian winger. My prediction: Kozlov will resemble the player he was with the Islanders last season and finish the year with 20 goals.

• Michael Nylander's injury could be the best thing that has happened in Nicklas Backstrom's short career. Backstrom had a career high four points (all assists) in last night's victory, and is proving to everybody that he is already playing like a number one center in this league. With Nylander out for the season, Backstrom will receive more ice-time and will play the rest of the season with Ovechkin. My prediction: Backstrom goes on a tear during the second half of the season, finishes the year with 20 goals, 50 assists and the Calder Trophy.

• The Capitals number two and three centers, Boyd Gordon and Dave Steckel, combined to win 70% (28-40) of their faceoffs last night. Gordon has provided the team with a defensive-minded second line option to complement the flashy Fleischmann and Semin, while Steckel makes up the team's shut down line with Matt Bradley and Quintin Laing. My prediction: these two lines make up the backbone of the Caps run to the playoffs which will see the team win the Southeast Division and host a 1st round matchup against the (Flyers?). How exciting would that be?

• The Stingrays shut out the Augusta Lynx last night 2-0 in front of a record crowd of 10,565 in the North Charleston Coliseum. It was the team's 4th straight win. Capitals prospect Travis Morin added an assist on the team's 1st goal giving him 43 points in just 36 games in the ECHL. He'll be the team's lone representative in the All-Star game this Wednesday in Stockton, CA which can be seen live on the NHL Network.

Stingrays Sitting Pretty in Race to the Playoffs

Tuesday, March 20th 2007

It wasn’t too long ago that the ‘Rays found themselves in sixth place in the South Division with a roster decimated by injuries and call ups to the Hershey Bears. In response all they have done is won seven of their last eight games and moved into sole possession of 4th place building a solid four point lead over both Augusta and Charlotte. The streak included taking two out of three games over 2nd place Florida and sweeping back-to-back games over Pensacola and Reading. They’ve seen an offensive explosion as of late, scoring at least three goals in each of those victories and averaging 3.875 goals per game over the past eight. (Photo Courtesy of The Mankato Free Press)

The Stingrays also received a boost to their lineup recently as the Washington Capitals signed their 2004 9th round pick Travis Morin (Pictured) to a two year entry level contract beginning next season. As part of the deal, Morin was signed to a PTO by the Stingrays for the rest of this season. The signing didn’t take long to pay dividends as Morin tallied the game winning goal in his first professional game on Sunday as South Carolina came from behind to defeat Pensacola 3-2. His debut followed an outstanding senior year at Minnesota State where he was named second team All-WCHA after leading his team with 17 goals and 39 points in 38 games.

South Carolina is now in a good position as they head down the stretch run to the post-season. They still must play three games at Augusta and host one game at home against the Charlotte Checkers in what will end up deciding who gets the final two spots in the playoffs.

Former Stingrays in the News:

Kyle Wilson, who was loaned to the Hershey Bears back on December 1st, was named the AHL player of the week for period ending March 18th. He posted 4 goals and 6 assists for 10 points in only 3 games.

Travis Morin Update

Washington's 9th Round Pick of 2004 Could Be a Steal. Article courtesy of www.mankatofreepress.com.

Senior has been Morin words can say

By Shane Frederick
The Free Press

MANKATO— Sitting out a game because of a
fighting penalty the game before, Minnesota State men’s hockey freshman Zach Harrison had to watch his team’s Dec. 29 game at Yale from the press box.
(Photo Courtesy of www.mankatofreepress.com)
While up there, the well-spoken rookie was coaxed into donning a headset and doing some color commentary during the Mavericks’ radio broadcast.
But as Harrison attempted to describe the action, teammate Travis Morin left him speechless.
“(Morin) came across the blue line and absolutely ripped a snap shot (for a goal),” Harrison recalled this week. “It was so fast. ... I was so in awe of how he did that.”
Morin has dropped a lot of jaws in his final season with the Mavericks. Tonight’s and Saturday’s games against Colorado College will be his final chance to do it before an audience at Midwest Wireless Civic Center.
The senior forward leads the Mavericks in scoring and ranks fifth in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association with 16 goals and 20 assists for 36 points. His 130 career points put him third on MSU’s Division I-era scoring list and 18th all-time.
After Morin scored a goal in MSU’s last home series against Michigan Tech, fans began the “Hobey Baker” chant, letting him know they believe he’s one of the nation’s best players.
In 2004, the Washington Capitals selected Morin in the ninth round of the National Hockey League draft. That now seems like quite the bargain for the 263rd overall pick.
“For whatever reason, he was underrated coming into this year,” Mavericks coach Troy Jutting said. “He’s getting a little more of what he deserves. ... He’s shown people that he’s a top-line performer in college hockey and is having a great senior season.”
Jutting didn’t underrate his co-captain, though.
With an otherwise neophyte team, the coach has given Morin a ton of ice time, the kind of minutes often reserved for top-tier defensemen, especially late in close games.
“Troy told me he’d be playing me a lot, and I’d have to be ready for that,” Morin said. “But that’s my job, and that’s what the team needs out of me. Power play, penalty kill, five on five, I have to be ready to go. As a hockey player, you want to be out there. You want to be playing.”
Up a goal or down a goal, Jutting said, he wants Morin on the ice in crunch time.
“I wish I had another one exactly like him,” Jutting said. “It’s easy to put him out there. He’s gifted offensively, but he’s also very good defensively. You can put him out there in all situations.”
If Morin wonders if the Mavericks’ youngsters are taking notice of his play, well, they are.
“His passion for the game inspires you as well,” Harrison said.
Harrison, a center, spent extra time working on his shot after practice Tuesday. He said he was trying to quicken his release and snap shots off the toe of his stick blade — perhaps trying to mimic what he saw Morin do that night against Yale.
“I just hope I can contribute the way (Morin) does,” Harrison said. “The goals, obviously, I’d love to do that, but the kind of leadership he brings, too.”
Morin is set to graduate in May with a degree in management. However, he said he might have the chance to sign with the Capitals after Minnesota State’s season ends.
But he’s not looking that far ahead. First, he said, he wants to try to lead the Mavericks to the WCHA Final Five for the first time since the year before he arrived in Mankato.
“Just to experience something beyond what we’ve already experienced would be amazing,” he said.
Perhaps that would leave Morin speechless.