HOCKEY 5050 Etna St. Suite B - North Charleston, SC 29418 Jared Shafran, Director of Media Relations and Broadcasting | [email protected] | (843) 744-2248 ext. 1203 2021 PLAYOFF SCHEDULE South Carolina vs. Florida (SC Wins, 3-2) vs. South Carolina Stingrays Game 1 Monday, June 7 W, 3-2 OT Friday, June 25 • North Charleston, SC Game 2 Wednesday, June 9 L, 5-4 20-21 Reg. Season Comparison (ECHL Rank) Game 3 Saturday, June 12 L, 5-1 Game 4 Sunday, June 13 W, 4-2 Fort Wayne South Carolina Game 5 Monday, June 14 W, 3-2 GF/G 3.33 (2nd) 3.09 (4th) South Carolina vs. Greenville (SC Wins, 3-1) Game 1 Wednesday, June 16 W, 5-1 GA/G 2.67 (1st) 3.03 (9th) Game 2 Friday, June 18 L, 2-5 Game 3 Saturday, June 19 W, 3-2 PP% 25.9% (1st) 17.1% (6th) Game 4 Monday, June 21 W, 2-1 PK% 86.8% (1st) 83.9% (6th) South Carolina vs. Fort Wayne Game 1 Friday, June 25 7:05 p.m. Game 2 Sunday, June 27 6:05 p.m. Rays Open 2021 Kelly Cup Finals Against Fort Wayne Friday Night Game 3 Wednesday, June 30 7:30 p.m. The South Carolina Stingrays are set to make their ECHL-best sixth Game 4 Friday, July 2 8:00 p.m. appearance in the Kelly Cup Finals beginning with Game 1 Friday night Game 5 Saturday, July 3 7:30 p.m. against the Fort Wayne Komets at the Carolina Ice Palace. South Carolina defeated the 2-1 on Monday night to claim in RAYS TEAM LEADERS the E.A. “Bud” Gingher Trophy as Eastern Conference champions, winning Postseason the best-of-5 game series, 3-1. Fort Wayne won the Bruce Taylor Trophy as Western Conference champions to secure their first-ever Kelly Cup Finals Goals Game-Winning Goals appearance by defeating the in overtime on Tuesday, also A. Cherniwchan, 4 Dan DeSalvo, 2 4 tied, 1 earning a 3-1 series win. The Komets were the No. 3 seed in the west after 5 tied, 3 finishing the regular season with a .618 points percentage. SC wrapped up Assists Power Play Goals the regular season as one of the hottest teams in the league, winning their Mark Cooper, 6 A. Cherniwchan, 2 last six games to secure a spot in the playoffs. The Rays have earned a spot Matthew Weis, 6 Brett Supinski, 2 Max Gottlieb, 5 in the ECHL’s postseason 27 times in the team’s 28-year history, finishing Justin Florek, 1 2020-21 with a .579 points percentage. South Carolina swept Fort Wayne Dan DeSalvo, 4 Matthew Weis, 1 Dylan Steman, 4 Max Novak, 1 in three prior meetings during the regular season in North Charleston, Cole Ully, 4 winning by scores of 2-1, 5-1 and 5-2 March 19-21. Points Power Play Assists Matthew Weis, 9 Max Gottlieb, 4 Stingrays Advance To 2021 Kelly Cup Finals Mark Cooper, 8 Matthew Weis, 4 Goals from Brett Supinski and Max Novak along with 29 saves from Cole Ully, 7 Cole Ully, 2 goaltender Hunter Shepard sent the South Carolina Stingrays past the 4 Tied, 1 Plus-Minus Greenville Swamp Rabbits and into the 2021 Kelly Cup Finals with a 2-1 Mark Cooper, +6 Shots On Net victory on Monday night at the Carolina Ice Palace. In total, Greenville led Macoy Erkamps, +4 Justin Florek, 27 in shots-on-goal 30-23 with goaltender John Lethemon stopping 21 shots Dylan Steman, +4 Mark Cooper, 24 in a losing effort. South Carolina was 1-for-6 on the man-advantage and Cole Ully, +4 Max Novak, 23 held the Swamp Rabbits to 0-for-1. Cole Ully, 23 Penalty Minutes Brett Supinski, 23 A. Cherniwchan, 20 Matthew Weis, 23 Mark Cooper, 8 Dylan Steman, 8 2021 ECHL KELLY CUP PLAYOFFS 3 2 1 1 0 3 4 4 EASTERN 1 3 1 4 3 4 3 1 3 2 WESTERN 2 3 2 2 3 1 3 3 SOUTH CAROLINA STINGRAYS HOCKEY SOUTH CAROLINA STINGRAYS HOCKEY

Scouting The Komets Fort Wayne finished the regular season in third place in the INSIDE THE SERIES ECHL’s Western Conference before defeating Wichita and Allen in Record vs. FW...... 5-1-1-0 First meeting the Kelly Cup Playoffs on their way to the championship round. Last 10 vs. FW...... 5-1-1-0 ...... Mar. 1, 2013 (W, 2-1 SO) Fort Wayne’s offensive attack was led by Brandon Hawkins during Streak vs. FW...... Won Four the regular season, who posted a team-high 23 goals and 39 Blair vs. FW...... 3-0-0-0 Last meeting points in 37 games. Rookie defender Randy Gazzola was also ...... Mar. 21, 2021 (W, 5-2) impressive from the blue line, leading the club with 29 assists * regular season only and totaling 33 points. In nine postseason contests, the Komets have been led by Anthony Nellis who has five goals and nine SITUATIONAL RECORDS points, as well as Stephen Harper who has totaled seven helpers 2019-20 2020-21 and nine points. In net, Dylan Ferguson has started all nine Overall Record 44-14-3-1 34-23-10-3 playoff games after appearing in 11 regular season contests and vs. South Division 38-11-3-1 23-23-9-3 earning a 1.96 goals-against average. Ferguson has a 3.02 GAA in vs. North Division 4-1-0-0 0-0-0-0 postseason play. vs. Central Division 1-0-0-0 11-0-1-0 vs. Mountain Division 1-2-0-0 0-0-0-0 All-Time History vs. Fort Wayne Home record 19-9-0-0 19-12-5-0 South Carolina and Fort Wayne have faced each other just seven Road record 25-5-3-1 15-11-5-3 times since the Komets joined the ECHL in 2012, with each Overtime 4-3 3-10 meeting coming during the regular season. All of their previous Shootout 2-1 5-3 contests have been played in North Charleston, with the teams splitting a two-game series March 1-2, 2013 as well as a two-game Scoring First 30-4-2-0 21-5-5-0 set the following year on March 28-29. Stingrays captain Andrew Opponent scores first 14-10-1-1 13-18-5-3 Cherniwchan scored in the clubs’ first-ever meeting, which the Leading after one period 21-3-1-0 16-5-2-0 Rays won in a shootout by a score of 2-1. Earlier this season, SC Behind after one period 8-6-0-1 6-14-2-3 swept a 3-game set and outscored the Komets 12-4 with wins by Tied after one period 15-5-2-0 12-4-6-0 scores of 2-1, 5-1 and 5-2. Overall, SC has a 5-1-1 record against FW. Leading after two periods 30-1-2-1 20-1-2-0 Behind after two periods 2-10-0-0 4-17-2-3 Weis Is Nice Tied after two periods 12-3-1-0 10-5-6-0 Forward Matthew Weis had assists on both Stingrays goals during the team’s Eastern Conference clinching performance on Monday Scoring on the PP 22-6-2-0 21-9-6-1 and is now tied for the ECHL playoff scoring lead with nine points Scoreless on the PP 22-8-1-1 13-14-4-2 (3g, 6a). The Freehold, N.J. native is on a four-game point scoring Allowing a PPG 11-9-2-1 11-12-7-2 streak, totaling a goal and four assists while appearing on the Opponent Scoreless on the PP 33-5-1-0 23-11-3-1 scoresheet in each of the Eastern Conference Finals games. Weis, who formerly played six games for Fort Wayne in 2018-19, had 28 One-Goal Games 15-4-3-1 17-5-10-3 points in 39 regular season games for SC and produced the second- Two-Goal Games 12-4-0-0 6-10-0-0 longest point streak in the league, scoring in 12 straight games OT/Shootout Games 6-0-3-1 8-0-10-3 between April 25 and May 21. More Penalties than Opponent 16-5-1-1 8-4-2-1 Less Penalties than Opponent 17-8-2-0 18-16-6-2 Cooper Finds Higher Gear For Postseason Same Amount of Penalties as Opp. 11-1-0-0 8-3-2-0 Forward Mark Cooper has turned it on in the playoffs for the Rays and is second on the team with eight points on two goals and six Scored three goals 11-2-1-1 8-4-3-1 assists. The attacker had a breakout performance in Game 4 of the Scored four goals 14-0-1-0 7-0-1-0 first round at Florida, scoring twice in SC’s 4-2 win to keep their Scored five or more goals 13-1-0-0 13-1-1-1 season alive. The Toronto, Ontario native then set up Dylan Steman Held to two goals or fewer 6-11-1-0 6-18-5-1 for SC’s opening goal in the decisive Game 5 and added a second helper on Cole Ully’s game-winner. Cooper kept it going in the Outshooting Opponent 26-4-1-0 16-8-3-1 Eastern Conference Finals, recording assists in the first three games. Outshot by Opponent 15-10-2-0 16-13-7-1 Shots are Even 3-0-0-1 2-2-0-1 Gottlieb Helping Out On Offense Defender Max Gottlieb has five assists in the 2021 postseason while Following a win 30-10-3-1 18-9-6-0 appearing in all nine of South Carolina’s playoff contests. His assist Following a loss 13-4-0-0 15-15-3-3 total is tied for first among ECHL defensemen, while his five points are tied for third among blueliners. Gottlieb, who also played 43 games on defense for Fort Wayne last season, totaled 23 points for SC during 2020-21 on five goals and 18 assists in 57 games. South Carolina Stingrays Hockey - #RaysUpSC - Visit stingrayshockey.com for more information /SCStingraysHockey @SCStingrays scstingrayshockey SCStingraysHockey SOUTH CAROLINA STINGRAYS HOCKEY SOUTH CAROLINA STINGRAYS HOCKEY

History On Their Side SOUTH CAROLINA IN BRIEF During their 28-year ECHL history, the Stingrays have more playoff wins than any other franchise with 129. South Carolina has qualified TEAM INFORMATION for the postseason in 27 of their seasons, including 13 straight, Location...... North Charleston, S.C. which is tied for the third-longest streak in ECHL history. The Rays Nickname...... Stingrays are making their sixth appearance in the Kelly Cup Finals, which is Colors...... Blue and Red the most in league history. SC’s three Kelly Cup titles are also the Home Rink...... North Charleston Coliseum most among active ECHL teams. Capacity...... 7,250 League...... ECHL DeSalvo Helps Keep Rays Alive President...... Rob Concannon Forward Dan DeSalvo scored in overtime in his first career Kelly Cup Playoff game to give the Stingrays an early lead in their opening HOCKEY STAFF round series against Florida and posted the first assist on both of Head Coach...... Ryan Blair Cole Ully’s key goals in Game 5. The Rolling Meadows, Ill. native Assistant Coach...... Brenden Kotyk also scored the winning goal in Game 3 on Saturday in Greenville Athletic Trainer...... Max Finley with a net-front deflection in the final minute of regulation. In nine Equipment Manager...... Nick Lazor postseason games, DeSalvo has six points (2g, 4a). FRANCHISE HISTORY Novak’s Big Series Forward Max Novak was one of the stars for SC during the Eastern First Season...... 1993 Conference Finals against Greenville, scoring five points in the four- Total Seasons...... 28 game series with three goals and two assists. After only recording Overall Record...... 1,119-646-83-136 a single assist in the opening round vs. Florida, Novak came alive Overall Playoff Record...... 129-122 in Game 1 of the ECF, scoring twice in a 5-1 win. He then added a Winning Seasons...... 27 pair of assists in the third period of Game 3 to propel SC to a victory Regular Season Titles...... 1, 1996-97 before scoring an insurance goal in the series clincher on Monday. Division Championships...... 6 Conference Championships...... 6 Blair Guides Rays To Postseason Success Kelly Cups...... 3 Stingrays’ bench boss Ryan Blair completed his first season as the team’s head coach in 2020-21 after serving as an assistant coach HOCKEY INFORMATION with the club in 2019-20. Blair is the fifth coach to lead his team to 2019-20 Overall Record...... 44-14-3-1 the Kelly Cup Finals in his first season behind the bench, joining 2019-20 vs. South...... 38-11-3-1 Ryan Warsofsky who achieved the feat in 2017. At 35-years-old, Blair is in position to be the youngest coach to ever guide his team to an Returning Players...... 11 ECHL championship. Newcomers...... 16

Stingrays Stun Greenville In Final Minute COMMUNICATIONS South Carolina scored three goals in the final 11 minutes of the Address...... 5050 Etna St., Suite B third period to reverse their fortune on Saturday night, coming Contact...... Jared Shafran from behind in stunning fashion to defeat Greenville 3-2 in Game Email...... [email protected] 3 of the ECHL’s Eastern Conference Finals at Bon Secours Wellness Office Phone...... 843-744-2248 Arena. Dan DeSalvo had the game winner in the closing seconds, Rays Facebook...... /SCStingraysHockey while Matthew Weis and Justin Florek scored the other third period Rays Twitter...... @SCStingrays goals for the Rays. Max Novak and Zach Malatesta each had two Rays Instagram...... @scstingrayshockey assists on the late tallies. Greenville Gets Past SC In Game 2 To Even Series South Carolina erased an early two-goal deficit in the first but MEDIA INFORMATION were unable to score in the second and third period and fell to the Greenville Swamp Rabbits by a final score of 5-2 in Game 2 of Watch:...... FloHockey the ECHL’s Eastern Conference Finals on Friday night at the Bon Listen:...... Caps Radio 24/7 & Mixlr Play-By-Play: Jared Shafran | Color: Nick Harvey Secours Wellness Arena. Stingrays’ goals came from Brett Supinski and Macoy Erkamps, who found the back of the net less than four Live Stats Link:...... bit.ly/ECHLlive minutes apart from each other. Erkamps was the lone SC skater In-game Updates:...... @SCStingrays with a multi-point night, also picking up an assist on Supinski’s tally.

South Carolina Stingrays Hockey - #RaysUpSC - Visit stingrayshockey.com for more information South Carolina Stingrays Hockey - #RaysUpSC - Visit stingrayshockey.com for more information /SCStingraysHockey @SCStingrays scstingrayshockey SCStingraysHockey