There’s a subtle art to being an effective agitator on the ice.

It’s more than just running your mouth or trash talking. It’s a hit in open ice, a slash in front of the net, or a face wash during a scrum.

Few are better at aggravating the opposition like South Carolina Stingrays veteran forward Andrew Cherniwchan.

“Andrew Cherniwchan is an absolute rat of a player,” Stingrays head coach Spiros Anastas said.

And Anastas means that as a high compliment.

“Andrew has a gritty, physical style of play,” Anastas said. “He gets under the skin of just about every player and every team out there. He’s the kind of player that you want on your team, but you’d hate to play against.”

Just ask Jacksonville’s Kris Newbury, a veteran of 16 professional seasons that include 78 games in the NHL. Newbury and Cherniwchan got tangled up in front of the Icemen’s net during Tuesday night’s game. As Newbury tried to free himself from Cherniwchan, he turned and punched his antagonist in the back of the head, earning both players a five-minute major penalty for fighting.

Cherniwchan smiled all the way to the penalty box.

“Newbury has jumped Andrew three times this year,” Anastas said. “He’s a guy that’s played at the highest level, but Andrew was able to get under his skin. That doesn’t faze Andrew one bit. He got back up and if we play Jacksonville or a team that has a player like Newbury again, he’ll get right back in their face.”

Easy going and quiet off the ice, Cherniwchan is nothing like his alter-ego personality on it.

“If we need a boost of energy, I’ll try and go out and make a hit or do something that gets the guys going and brings some life to the bench,” Cherniwchan said. “Sometimes, I want to send a message that I’m not going to take it, I’m going to give it right back. I don’t run my mouth that much on the ice, I just let my play do the talking.”

Cherniwchan, 29, has always been able to put up points, but he’s having a career season so far this year. It’s been good enough that Cherniwchan has been named to next week’s ECHL All-Star Game in Toledo.

“It’s an honor to represent this organization,” Cherniwchan said.

Cherniwchan is leading the Stingrays in scoring and is eighth overall in the ECHL with 40 points. The seventh-year pro has 17 goals and 23 assists in 38 games. The Hinton, Alberta, native is also second in the league with four shorthanded goals and fourth in the ECHL with 142 shots on goal.

In 182 career ECHL games, all of which have been played for South Carolina, Cherniwchan has scored 143 points on 64 goals and 79 assists.

“Honestly, I haven’t changed anything about my game this season,” Cherniwchan said. “I think I get a lot of my points from doing things the right way. Spiros is big on the process and playing the game the right way. I think with the style we play, as long as you stick with the process, the points will come.”

Cherniwchan has spent 173 games in the American Hockey League playing for Providence, Springfield and Utica. But his fiancée is a nurse at MUSC and the Lowcountry has started to feel like home.

“We spend the whole year here,” Cherniwchan said. “It’s like playing at home for me now. The dream of playing in the NHL never fades, nor should it, but I’m happy where I’m at.”

It’s a commitment level that even Anastas has noticed over the last few months.

“He’s older, more mature and he’s really connected to Charleston and the Stingrays,” Anastas said. “I think it might mean a little bit more to him and now he’s in a leadership role. He’s not going up and down between the ECHL and the American League, so there’s been more continuity, more consistency.”