Sports
Rays Earn 6-3 Victory In Exhibition Outing
By: Stingrays Media
The South Carolina Stingrays got out in front early and never trailed on their way to a 6-3 win over the Greenville Swamp Rabbits in their lone preseason game prior to the 2020-21 season on Saturday at the Bon Secours Wellness Arena.
Dan DeSalvo and Cole Ully led the way for the Rays, each scoring twice in the victory. Goaltender Alex Dubeau got the start and played all 60 minutes to earn the win in net with 29 saves.
In total, 10 skaters were on the scoresheet for South Carolina, including forward Mason Morelli who added two assists.
DeSalvo got the scoring started just 35 seconds in when he found the back of the net on the first shot of the game to put South Carolina in front 1-0. The lone assist on the goal was credited to Morelli.
At 3:08 of the middle frame, DeSalvo added his second of the night while the Rays were shorthanded to make it 2-0.
Less than a minute later, however, Greenville got on the board when Mike McNamee beat Dubeau to make it 2-1 at 3:59.
Forward Cam Askew put SC back up by two at 3-1 with a strike at 9:43 of the second from Ully and Max Novak.
Before the end of the second frame, the Rays went to work during a 5-on-3 power play and tallied their fourth goal of the night to make it 4-1. Ully finished off the play for his first marker, which was assisted by defenders Connor Moore and Jesse Lees at 18:06.
The Swamp Rabbits got one closer in the third when Kamerin Nault scored at 12:08 to cut SC’s lead to 4-2.
But Ully responded with his second of the evening from defender Brett Orr and forward Caleb Herbert make it 5-2 Stingrays to at 16:31 of the third.
Forward Mark Cooper put the finishing touches on the Rays’ scoring for the night when he added a tally in the final minute of the game at 19:07 with an assist from Morelli and South Carolina was in front 6-2.
Seconds later Matthew Wedman netted Greenville’s third goal of the contest at 19:23 of the final period, but time ran out on the Swamp Rabbits.
Greenville had the edge in shots on goal for the contest by a 32-25 margin. Ryan Bednard got the start in net for the Swamp Rabbits and made eight saves on 11 shots in a losing effort, while Jacob Ingham turned aside 11 shots on 14 attempts.
South Carolina finished 1-for-6 on the power play in the game while Greenville ended 1-for-4 on the man-advantage.
The Stingrays and Swamp Rabbits will open the 2020-21 season on December 11 at the North Charleston Coliseum at 7:05 p.m.
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