Stingrays hold off Nailers

Wheeling, W.Va. -- The South Carolina Stingrays edged the Wheeling Nailers 2-1 on Friday night in front of 2,727 at WesBanco Arena.

Stingrays goaltender Todd Ford saved 27 shots to earn his third straight victory.

The Stingrays (5-2-1-1) struck first as forward Gregg Johnson scored his third goal of the year past Nailers goaltender Jordan Parise at 1:19 of the opening period.

Stingrays center Matt Fornataro forced a turnover along the right-wing boards in the Nailers' zone and found Johnson in front of the net. The even-strength goal is Johnson's third goal in three games.

The Stingrays jumped out to a two-goal lead in the third period with forward Nikita Kashirsky's sixth goal of the season at 17:32.

Keith Johnson and Jake Hauswirth recorded the assists.

Stingrays defenseman Joe Finley was called for hooking, and the Nailers' Jordan Fox scored on the 6-on-4 power play to cut into the Stingrays' lead to prevent the shutout.

The Stingrays travel to play Reading today at 7:05 p.m.

1st Period-1, South Carolina, Johnson 3 (Fornataro), 1:19. Penalties-Schmidt Whl (delay of game), 4:26; Godfrey Sc (delay of game), 7:35; Carbery Sc (fighting - major), 12:04; Ganzak Whl (fighting - major), 12:04.

2nd Period- No Scoring.Penalties-Wellar Sc (tripping), 0:29; Tarkir Sc (interference), 6:30; Jones Sc (tripping), 10:37; Fox Whl (tripping), 16:25; Lord Whl (tripping), 18:18; Hauswirth Sc (hooking), 19:20.

3rd Period-2, South Carolina, Kashirsky 6 (Johnson, Hauswirth), 17:32. 3, Wheeling, Fox 1 (Haddad, Yaworski), 18:56 (pp). Penalties-Schmidt Whl (delay of game), 6:56; Finley Sc (cross-checking), 18:46.

Shots on Goal-South Carolina 6-6-10-22. Wheeling 9-5-14-28. Power Play Opportunities-South Carolina 0 of 4; Wheeling 1 of 6. Goalies-South Carolina, Ford 3-1-0-1 (28 shots-27 saves). Wheeling, Parise 1-3-0-0 (22 shots-20 saves). A-2,727.