Intotheboards.net - ECHL Playoffs 2008 - Augusta vs South Carolina

POWER PLAY	21ST - 14.6
PENALTY KILL	14TH - 82.5
*FORWARDS*
LOUIS GOULET	18-38-56 (-1)
MATT AUFFREY	25-25-50 (-17)
MATT CHRISTIE	11-30-41 (-15)
*DEFENSEMEN*
ADRIAN VEIDERMAN	11-29-40 (0)
JASON PLATT	0-8-8 (-4)
BJ CRUM	2-5-7 (-1)
*GOALTENDERS*
BOBBY GOEPFERT	16-15-1 (3 SO) 2.60 GA .912 PCT

JP LEVASSEUR	10-11-0 (1 SO) 2.99 GA .900 PCT

	Augusta vs South Carolina

	SCHEDULE
	1	APR. 10	SOUTH CAROLINA 2 - AUGUSTA 5
SEED 7	2	APR. 12	SOUTH CAROLINA 3 - AUGUSTA 4 (OT)	SEED 2
32-35-1 (69)	3	APR. 14	AUGUSTA 2 - SOUTH CAROLINA 3 (OT)	47-22-2 (97)
	4	APR. 15	AUGUSTA 2 - SOUTH CAROLINA 3 (2OT)
	5	APR. 16	AUGUSTA 1 - SOUTH CAROLINA 2
*South Carolina Wins Series 3-2*

SERIES PREVIEW

by Tom Schettino - PROHOCKEYNEWS.COM

Hard-working, low-scoring series in the offing These two clubs know each other very well having faced each other ten times during the regular season including the final two games of the slate. The games have been low-scoring with a grand total of 45 scores, an average of 4.5 per game, notched.

Forwards; While Louis Goulet (18-38-56) led the Augusta Lynx in the regular season and against the Stingrays, the big news up front for Augusta is the return of Aaron Slattengren. Slattengren had been in the AHL with Providence since January 15th and despite playing well with the Bruins he is back in the ECHL for this series. Matt Christie, who is back from the AHL himself, 20-goal scorer Travis Fuller and Matt Auffrey are the other leading scorers on Lynx. The rest of the forwards may not have gaudy scoring totals but each of them contribute by working hard. South Carolina boasts the league’s third-leading scorer in Travis Morin (34-50-84) and much more offensive depth that Augusta has in Chris Chaput, Luc O’Brien, Trent Campbell, Marty Guerin and team captain Cail MacLean. MacLean is hurting with a back injury and his absence would detract from the 'Rays power play. Matt Smith, who recently joined the club after his college season ended, has picked up a point-per-game since signing.

Defense: There is a lot to like about the South Carolina defense which is full of size and experience. The blueline features Tim Judy, Rory Rawlyk, Nate Kiser and Scott Romfo and has had the services of Sasha Pokuluk as of late. Adrian Videman picked up 40 points and a berth on the ECHL All-Rookie Team for the Lynx, providing an offensive flair for the club. Jason Platt, Tim Branham and Nick Toneys as a group do not have the names of their Stingrays contemporaries, but they will play a smart and hard game.

Goaltending; Davis Parley played extremely well down the stretch as he was named the RBC Saver of the Month with a 6-1 record and a 1.78 goals against average. Parley finished his regular season with a shutout of the Lynx and owns a 4-0 mark against them for the season averaging less than a goal against per game. The South Carolina stopper wound up third in the ECHL in goals against average and much is expected from him. Bob Goepfert is Augusta’s answer and the club played over .500 hockey (16-15-1) when the rookie from St. Cloud State earned the decision.

What to expect; The schedule gives Augusta a bit of hope as they start with the first two games in their building due to a conflict with the Stingrays home ice. That being said South Carolina has to like their chances as the last two games rolled out almost according to script. Parley picked up a shutout in the last game he played against the Lynx and Augusta gave the Stingrays a hard-fought battle in the last game, which means they are not going to catch the South Carolina players unawares. Augusta needs to keep the score down and depend on the addition of Slattengren for enough scoring to win. If Slattengren can produce and Goepfert plays great in his first playoffs Augusta could register the upset. The latter scenario is unlikely and most ECHL observers would be surprised if South Carolina needs more than four games to dispatch the Lynx.

Game 1	S. Carolina 2 - Augusta 5
*PROHOCKEYNEWS.COM*	*Augusta Leads Series 1-0*
*Augusta, GA* - Head coaches count on their top players and team leaders in the playoffs which means Bob Ferguson has to be delighted with his core performers after the first game of the Lynx' best-of-five series against the Stingrays. Augusta assistant captain Anthony Battaglia scored twice, including the game-winning goal, and added an assist while team captain Louis Goulet piled up three helpers of his own as the pair led the Lynx to a 5-2 win over South Carolina. Building availability in North Charleston forced the Stingrays to open up on the road and the Lynx took advantage of their lucky break. Game two will also be in Augusta before moving on to South Carolina for whatever remains of the series. The game actually looked as if it was going to go for the 'Rays when Paul McIlveen defeated Augusta netminder Bobby Goepert just 50 seconds into the contest. Augusta hung in there and Battaglia rang up his pair and Matt Auffrey added another goal to give the Lynx a 3-1 lead after 20 minutes. South Carolina's Sean Collins scored to narrow the lead to one, but rookie defender Adrien Veideman and AHL-ringer Aaron Slattengren answered to round out the scoring. Slattengren's goal chased Stingrays highly-touted netminder Davis Parley in favor of Josh Johnson after just 14 saves for Parley. Augusta's win came despite the fact they were outshot by the Stingrays by a 30-25 margin. They will need their leaders to keep scoring and for Goepfert to keep playing well in goal to pick up a victory in game two on Saturday night.

Game 2	S. Carolina 3 - Augusta 4 (OT)
by Tom Schettino - PROHOCKEYNEWS.COM	*Augusta Leads Series 2-0*
*Augusta, GA* - The South Carolina Stingrays had a tough hockey season fighting off the likes of the Gladiators, Wildcatters, Sea Wolves and Inferno in the ECHL's South Division and survived them all to make the playoffs. Despite their hard work when all is said and done the 2007-08 Stingrays might just be killed off by the quartet of Rodney Carrington, Walking With Dinosaurs, Keith Urban and Carrie Underwood. With their building filled with events the Stingrays had to play the first two games of their series against the Augusta Lynx in Georgia and they did not fare well while away from South Carolina. Down by a game in the series the Stingrays went after Augusta hard in game two. At one point in the first period they held a 13-1 advantage in shots and finished the first frame with a 19-7 advantage on the stat sheet. The hard work would only leave the club even as Augusta netminder Bobby Goepfert limited the 'Rays to an unassisted Stephen Werner goal which was counterbalanced by a Travis Fuller power play goal for Augusta. South Carolina kept the pressure on and appeared to roll up Goepfert and his Lynx teammates as they scored the game's next two goals. Martin Guerin broke the early game tie with a power play goal in the second period and Travis Morin finished off a two-on-one with Cail MacLean to put the 'Rays up 3-1 at the 5:27 mark of the third period. With the prospect of going to South Carolina to finish the series with only a split the Lynx, who finished the season with a sub-.500 record, rallied back. Jamie McKinven pulled his team to within a goal and the teams battled until Goepfert was pulled for an extra attacker late in the game. With less than a minute in the game Augusta captain Louis Goulet took a shot on goal which was saved by South Carolina netminder Davis Parley. But Parley was unable to control the rebound and Aaron Slattengren knotted the score with a backhander past Parley. The goal forced overtime in a game which South Carolina clearly held the advantage in play and had out shot Augusta by a large margin. Perhaps the Stingrays were stunned or the Lynx were energized, but the overtime was the opposite of regulation as this time Augusta was putting on the pressure. In the end it would be Anaheim Ducks' prospect Bobby Bolt who would put Augusta one step away from an upset when he bashed a one-timer past Parley just a bit over seven minutes in overtime. The two clubs will head to North Charleston for game three on Monday night. Due to the building conflicts mentioned above the clubs will play three games in three nights beginning with the Monday tilt should the series go the distance.

Game 3	Augusta 2 - S. Carolina 3 (OT)
*PROHOCKEYNEWS.COM*	*Augusta Leads Series 2-1*
*N. Charleston, SC* - Stephen Werner and the South Carolina Stingrays took advantage of a power play in overtime to allow the club's 15th anniversary season to continue. Faced with elimination South Carolina coach Jared Bednar replaced Davis Parley in goal with Josh Johnson and the rest of the 'Rays came out fired up. Bob Ferguson's Augusta Lynx returned the favor and the intensity poured out into some physical play and two fights in the first period. Marty Guerin, who would be in a fight just 15 seconds later, scored the game's first goal with help from Trent Campbell and Werner. Augusta captain Louis Goulet evened the game when he scored with his club shorthanded at the 8:35 mark of the opening period. Chris Chaput put the Stingrays back in front with the sides skating four-on-four late in the period. Sasha Pokuluk and Sean Collins picked up the assists on a goal that would stand for some time. Augusta floundered through a fallow stage in the second period, but still managed to tie the score when Chase Watson nailed his first playoff goal at the 12:36 mark. The goal would stand all the way into overtime. The beginning of the end for the Lynx came when Matt Auffrey was assessed four minutes for high-sticking after he smacked South Carolina's Travis Morin. Auffrey had just come close to winning the series for the Lynx with a scoring bid, but was handed the penalty nearly immediately after missing his chance. Werner with help from Pokulok and Rory Rawlyk converted just 22 seconds after Auffrey's misfortune to force a game four to be played on Tuesday night. Johnson was solid in goal as he made 34 stops and was named the game's third star. Augusta's Bobby Goepfert continued his fine play with a 41 save effort for the Lynx in a losing effort.

Game 4	Augusta 2 - S. Carolina 3 (2OT)
*PROHOCKEYNEWS.COM*	*Series Tied 2-2*
*N. Charleston, SC* - Those South Carolina Stingrays are not ready to end their fifteen anniversary season are they? The Stingrays held an advantage in play the game from start to finish, but we unable to solve Augusta netminder Bobby Goepfert with any consistency. Marty Guerin had a tremendous two goal effort as he picked up the Stingrays regulation goal. Guerin scored his first goal just 1:57 with an assist from overtime hero Trent Campbell. The scrappy Augsuta team knotted the contest with just a single second left in the period when Travis Fuller picked up his second of the series with assists from Matt Auffrey and Matt Christie, both of whom would play prominent roles later in the game. Auffrey gave the Lynx a 2-1 lead with help from Christie but Guerin scored on a superb singular effort to knot the contest up once again. The two club battled through the rest of the game as Josh Johnson and Goepfert stopped each shot taken on them for the rest of regulation and the first overtime. Johnson's best of the game came when he robbed Christie from point blank with just over two minutes in regulation. Campbell finally solved Goepfert, bought the game to an end 3:36 into the second overtime and tied the series when his soft shot hit the Augusta netminder, bounded up in the air and then bounced off Goepfert into the net. Campbell's goal allowed the club to continue their comeback in a series which saw them lose the first two games. Augusta was without captain Louis Goulet who was placed on the three-day IR. In turn the Stingrays will be without defenseman Rory Rawlyk in game five after he was suspened for his actions in game four. The two clubs will finish their series in South Carolina tonight. Should the Stingrays win they will have home-ice advantage over Columbia. If the Lynx pull off the upset they will have to take on the first-seeded Texas Wildcatters.

Game 5	Augusta 1 - S. Carolina 3
by Tom Schettino - PROHOCKEYNEWS.COM	*South Carolina Wins Series 3-2*
*N. Charleston, SC* - A 4-3 overtime win on Saturday night put the Augusta Lynx one step away from moving on to the second round. They never took that step. Jared Bednar's South Carolina Stingrays believed in themselves when most had given up hope and translated their belief into three-game sweep at home. Now it is the Stingrays who are moving on to face the equally hot Gwinnett Gladiators in the second round. Game four hero Trent Campbell quickly established he would be the hero, or at least one of them, in game five too. With teammate Patrick McNeill in the box for tripping Campbell stole the puck and broke out with Stephen Werner on a shorthanded two-on-one break. Werner picked up his third of the series after Campbell fed him a perfect pass to spring him free. Werner scored his second of the night and fourth of the series when he converted a second period power play with help from Campbell and Pierre-Luc O'Brien. Despite the fact they were playing their second consecutive game without captain Louis Goulet the Lynx had a strong first period out-shooting the Stingrays by an 11-8 margin. But Werner's goals sapped the life from them and the Lynx only sprinkled eight more shots on goal during the last 40 minutes of play. Down 2-0 Augusta wasn't quite done as Anthony Battaglia registered an unassisted goal early in the third period. However the Lynx could never muster the tying goal and Campbell finished them off with an empty-net score with less than a minute to play. Both teams were using their second choice goaltender. South Carolina turned to Josh Johnson after going down 2-0 and he responded with his third consecutive win with 18 saves in this game. Meanwhile Bob Ferguson turned to J.P. Levasseur after the fourth game. Levasseur played well and made 30 stops but the tide had turned in this series after Werner's goals. As the Lynx wonder what one more bounce could have done for them the Stingrays will play game one of their series against Gwinnett on Friday night. The club has to be ready because the second game will take place on Saturday night. If they suffer a letdown they could find themselves in a familiar place, down 2-0, quickly and the Gladiators will not be easy to rally against.

POWER PLAY	5TH - 20.4
PENALTY KILL	4TH - 85.0
*FORWARDS*
TRAVIS MORIN	34-50-84 (+16)
CHRIS CHAPUT	25-38-63 (+4)
PIERRE-LUC O'BRIEN	13-44-57 (+15)
*DEFENSEMEN*
NATE KISER	5-22-27 (+13)
SCOTT ROMFO	7-16-23 (+10)
SEAN COLLINS	1-13-14 (+7)
*GOALTENDERS*
DAVIS PARLEY	24-9-2 (4 SO) 2.30 GA .924 PCT

JOSH JOHNSON	23-13-0 (2 SO) 2.80 GA .908 PCT