Takeaways From Wednesday Morning ECHL Action

After three early-morning games Tuesday, Education Day continued Wednesday with five more early-bird contests, allowing teachers and students to take a field trip and enjoy some hockey.

Here are takeaways from the five morning games.

Stingrays 4, Railers 1

South Carolina was looking for its first road victory of the season, and it came in Worcester by a 4-1 score.

Jon McDonald, Eric Middendorf, Jamie Engelbert and Grant Cruikshank each tallied goals for the Stingrays, who moved their record to 6-2-1. Goalie Garin Bjorklund earned his second consecutive victory in net with a 36-save performance.

Jack Randl scored the lone goal for the Railers, who fall to 5-5-0.

McDonald got the scoring started for the Rays 5:47 into the opening period, firing a wrister from the high slot past Railers netminder Michael Bullion for his first goal of the season. Dean Loukus picked up the primary assist for his first professional point.

Randl tied things up 1-1 on a turnaround shot 3:44 into the second period. That was all they would get on the day, however.

Middendorf put the Rays back on top 2-1 10:11 into the third frame on a 2-on-0 rush. Engelbert and Cruikshank each added empty-net goals in the final two minutes.

The Railers may have lost the game, but they won a fight thanks to Kolby Johnson.

While the KO was impressive, there were a great deal of kids out of the 7,303 spectators on hand. Guess they have to learn about the rough stuff sometime, right?

Swamp Rabbits 4, Ghost Pirates 3

The Greenville Swamp Rabbits gave their kids and educators a sweet lesson Wednesday to earn their third straight win. Ben Freeman picked up his 100^th point as a Swamp Rabbit, Carter Savoie tallied a power-play goal for the fourth consecutive game while Bryce Brodzinski and Patrick Moynihan each had multi-point efforts to help the cause.

Greenville took a 1-0 lead with 8:02 in the first on a bit of luck. Savannah goaltender Keith Kinkaid sent an outlet pass that ended up deflecting off his intended target and pinballed to an open net. The puck ended up on Brodzinski’s stick, and he didn’t miss.

Freeman cashed in uncontested in the low slot for a 2-0 Greenville lead at 2:07 of the second, giving him his 100^th point with the Swamp Rabbits.

After a Greenville goal was waved off and upheld by review, the Ghost Pirates capitalized on a Devon Paliani goal with 7:05 remaining in the middle frame.

Riley Hughes evened the score 2-2 for the Ghost Pirates midway through the third period. But Tate Singleton sparked a 2-on-1 rush with Moynihan moments later to put Greenville ahead for good 3-2.

Savoie scored from the right circle on a two-man advantage at 6:28 for a 4-2 lead. The Ghost Pirates added their final tally at 2:44 on a Reece Vitelli power-play goal.

The Swamp Rabbits move to 4-3-1 while Savannah drops to 7-4-0.

Fuel 4, Walleye 1

The Indy Fuel took a field trip of their own to Toledo for their Education Day game and came away with an impressive road win to stretch their record to 4-5-0.

Trenton Bliss took advantage of a power play at 5:45 of the first for a 1-0 Toledo lead.

Indy, however, capitalized on a two-man advantage to even the score at 17:12 of the first on a Kyle Maksimovich tally.

The score remained tied until the third period, when Kevin Lombardi put Indy ahead to stay at the 5:10 mark with his first goal of the season. It was also his first professional goal.

Moments later, Cam Hausinger of the Fuel scored on another power play for his second of the season and a 3-1 lead.

Lombardi sealed the victory on an empty-netter for his second goal of the game and a 4-1 final.

Indy outshot the Walleye 26-22. It was a tough home loss for Toledo, who fell to 7-3-1.

Mavericks 4, Thunder 3 (Overtime)

Charlie Wright picked a great time to notch his first professional goal. The Mavericks defenseman broke free on a breakaway and rammed home the game-winner in overtime to give his club a big home win in front of many teachers and students.

Goalie Victor Ostman was brilliant in goal for Kansas City, stopping 25 of 28 shots including several crucial saves to preserve the win.

The Mavericks (7-3-0-1) dominated in shots on goal with 46 compared to 28 for Wichita, who falls to 6-4-1-0.

The Thunder struck first on a Jeremie Bucheler goal at 4:31 of the first period, assisted by Michal Stinil and Peter Bates.

Kansas City responded late in the period on a wrap-around goal by Cade Borchardt to tie the game 1-1 at 13:59, with Luke Loheit getting the helper.

Borchardt scored again at 2:20 of the second period with assists from Damien Giroux and Nate Knoepke for a 2-1 lead.

Wichita tied the score 2-2 on a Kobe Walker tally at 18:54 to even things 2-2 heading into the third period.

David Noel reclaimed the lead for the Mavericks early in the third, only to have the Thunder tie the game on an Austin Heidemann goal after pulling goaltender Aaron Dell with over five minutes left. It was a risk, but Wichita was rewarded, sending the game into overtime.

That’s when Wright came through in the clutch for the game-winner after both teams exchanged great opportunities to end the contest.

Americans 3, Grizzlies 1

Allen picked up its first home win of the season and moved their overall mark to 3-5-1 against Utah (4-4-0).

Just under 6,000 kids and teachers packed the Credit Union of Texas Event Center to watch their home team shine. Allen outshot the Grizzlies 14-8 in the first period, including 12 straight at one point.

However, it took until the second period for the Americans to score first. Spencer Asuchak knocked home his second goal of the season and second in the last three games.

Brayden Watts scored the game-winner and his fourth goal of the season in the third period, while Mark Duarte potted an empty-netter. Duarte also contributed defensively, blocking three Utah shots down the stretch to snuff out any hopes of a comeback.

Grizzlies captain Gianni Fairbrother netted the only goal for his team 12:46 into the third period.

For the first time this season, the Americans outshot their opponent with a season-high 37 compared to 27 for the Grizzlies. Allen now owns a 2-1 lead in the season series against Utah. Dylan Wells won his third straight game in net to move his record to 3-2-0 on the season.