Milner Stops 39 Shots to Secure Victory for South Carolina
Stingrays Media
ORLANDO, Fla. — Forwards Branden Troock and Cam Askew scored second period goals and goaltender Parker Milner turned aside 39 shots as the South Carolina Stingrays (34-9-3-1) earned their second win in as many days over the Orlando Solar Bears (21-20-5-1) by a 2-1 score on Friday night at the Amway Center.
The sweep gave South Carolina 72 total points on the year which leads both the South Division and the Eastern Conference.
After a scoreless first period, Troock put the Rays on top 1-0 with his second goal in as many nights. His eighth of the season came on a quick wrist shot from the right circle with an assist by Tom Parisi at 5:23 of the second.
1:01 later, Cam Askew converted on the power play for his eighth goal of the year at 6:24 of the middle frame. Askew won the face-off in the offensive zone to begin the man-advantage and went straight to the net. He was left open at the top of the crease and made perfect move to get the puck to his forehand before lifting it into the net. Assists on the strike went to Troock and forward Dan DeSalvo.
The Solar Bears gained life at 4:39 of the third when Rich Boyd beat Milner with a shot from the left side of the zone to cut the lead down to 2-1.
But South Carolina was able to keep Orlando off the board in the final minutes of action and came away with a sweep of the week’s two-game set. The victory was the Stingrays’ ninth of the year in 11 meetings with the Solar Bears so far this season.
Askew’s power play goal was the only man-advantage tally of the night as the Stingrays finished 1-for-2 on the man-advantage while Orlando was held scoreless at 0-for-5. Goaltender Mike Condon got the start for the Solar Bears and stopped 25 shots in a losing effort. Orlando finished with a 40-27 shots-on-goal edge in the game.
South Carolina returns home to the North Charleston Coliseum for a battle with the Jacksonville Icemen on Sunday afternoon at 3:05 p.m. Tickets for all of the team’s upcoming 2019-20 home contests are on sale now via Ticketmaster. For all the latest news and updates, head to StingraysHockey.com and follow the Stingrays on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
