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 Wednesday, June 30 • Fort Wayne, IN 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 South Carolina Fort Wayne Game 5 Monday, June 14 W, 3-2 GF/G 3.09 (4th) 3.33 (2nd) South Carolina vs. Greenville (SC Wins, 3-1) Game 1 Wednesday, June 16 W, 5-1 GA/G 3.03 (9th) 2.67 (1st) Game 2 Friday, June 18 L, 2-5 Game 3 Saturday, June 19 W, 3-2 PP% 17.1% (6th) 25.9% (1st) Game 4 Monday, June 21 W, 2-1 PK% 83.9% (6th) 86.8% (1st) South Carolina vs. Fort Wayne (Series Tied, 1-1) Game 1 Friday, June 25 L, 2-7 Game 2 Sunday, June 27 W, 4-2 Kelly Cup Finals Series Shifts To Fort Wayne Ahead of Pivotal Game 3 Game 3 Wednesday, June 30 7:30 p.m. After tying up the best-of-5 Kelly Cup Finals series with a 4-2 win in Game 4 Friday, July 2 8:00 p.m. Game 2 on Sunday, the South Carolina Stingrays are set for Game 3 in Game 5 Saturday, July 3 7:30 p.m. Fort Wayne on Wednesday night. The Komets had the early edge in the series with a lopsided 7-2 win in Game 1 last Friday. SC is making their RAYS TEAM LEADERS ECHL-best sixth appearance in the championship round after capturing Postseason the Eastern Conference and the E.A. “Bud” Gingher Trophy after defeating the in four games. Fort Wayne won the Bruce Goals Game-Winning Goals Taylor Trophy as Western Conference champions to secure their first-ever A. Cherniwchan, 4 Dan DeSalvo, 2 Cole Ully, 4 Cole Ully, 2 Kelly Cup Finals appearance by defeating the in overtime Max Novak, 4 4 tied, 1 last Tuesday for a 3-1 series win. The Komets were the No. 3 seed in the Assists Power Play Goals west after finishing the regular season with a .618 points percentage. SC Matthew Weis, 8 A. Cherniwchan, 2 wrapped up the regular season as one of the hottest teams in the league, Mark Cooper, 6 Brett Supinski, 2 winning their last six games to secure a spot in the playoffs. The Rays have Cole Ully, 6 Max Novak, 2 earned a spot in the ECHL’s postseason 27 times in the team’s 28-year Max Gottlieb, 5 Justin Florek, 1 history, finishing 2020-21 with a .579 points percentage. South Carolina Max Novak, 5 Matthew Weis, 1 Caleb Herbert, 1 swept Fort Wayne in three meetings during the regular season in North Points Max Gottlieb, 1 Charleston, winning by scores of 2-1, 5-1 and 5-2 March 19-21. Matthew Weis, 11 Cole Ully, 10 Power Play Assists Stingrays Strike Back To Even Finals Series Max Novak, 9 Matthew Weis, 5 Mark Cooper, 8 Max Gottlieb, 4 The South Carolina Stingrays scored four times during the second period Dan DeSalvo, 7 Cole Ully, 3 and defeated the Fort Wayne Komets in Game 2 of the Kelly Cup Finals by Plus-Minus Justin Florek, 2 a score of 4-2 to even the series at one game apiece on Sunday night at the Carolina Ice Palace. Forward Max Novak led the way for South Carolina Mark Cooper, +6 Shots On Net 4 tied, +2 with a goal and two assists, while Cole Ully had two points with a goal and Cole Ully, 34 Penalty Minutes Mark Cooper, 31 an assist and goaltender Hunter Shepard turned aside 20 saves to earn his A. Cherniwchan, 20 Justin Florek, 30 seventh victory of the postseason. Justin Florek, 12 Brett Supinski, 27 Dylan Steman, 10 Matthew Weis, 27 Mark Cooper, 8 2021 ECHL KELLY CUP PLAYOFFS 3 2 1 1 0 3 4 4 EASTERN 1 3 1 4 3 4 3 1 1 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 Record vs. FW...... 5-1-1-0 First meeting in the Kelly Cup Playoffs on their way to the championship Last 10 vs. FW...... 5-1-1-0 ...... Mar. 1, 2013 (W, 2-1 SO) round. Fort Wayne’s offensive attack was led by Brandon Hawkins Streak vs. FW...... Won Four during the regular season, who posted a team-high 23 goals Blair vs. FW...... 3-0-0-0 Last meeting and 39 points in 37 games. Rookie defender Randy Gazzola ...... Mar. 21, 2021 (W, 5-2) was also impressive from the blue line, leading the club with * regular season only 29 assists and totaling 33 points. In 11 postseason contests, the Komets have been led by Anthony Nellis who has seven goals SITUATIONAL RECORDS and 12 points, as well as Stephen Harper who has totaled seven 2019-20 2020-21 helpers and 10 points. In net, Dylan Ferguson has started all 11 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 3.01 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 in the regular seson since the Komets joined the ECHL in Overtime 4-3 3-10 2012. All of their previous contests have been played in North Shootout 2-1 5-3 Charleston, with the teams splitting a two-game series March 1-2, 2013 as well as a two-game set the following year on March 28- Scoring First 30-4-2-0 21-5-5-0 29. Stingrays’ captain Andrew Cherniwchan scored in the clubs’ Opponent scores first 14-10-1-1 13-18-5-3 first-ever meeting, which the Rays won in a shootout by a score of Leading after one period 21-3-1-0 16-5-2-0 2-1. Earlier this season, SC swept a 3-game set and outscored the Behind after one period 8-6-0-1 6-14-2-3 Komets 12-4 with wins by scores of 2-1, 5-1 and 5-2. Overall, the Tied after one period 15-5-2-0 12-4-6-0 Stingrays have a 5-1-1 regular season 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 last Monday Scoring on the PP 22-6-2-0 21-9-6-1 and has added assists in each of the first two Kelly Cup Finals games. Scoreless on the PP 22-8-1-1 13-14-4-2 The Freehold, N.J. native is second among all ECHL skaters in the Allowing a PPG 11-9-2-1 11-12-7-2 playoffs with 11 points (3g, 8a) and is on a six-game point scoring Opponent Scoreless on the PP 33-5-1-0 23-11-3-1 streak. Weis, who formerly played six games for Fort Wayne in 2018- 19, had 28 points in 39 regular season games for SC and produced One-Goal Games 15-4-3-1 17-5-10-3 the second-longest point streak in the league by scoring in 12 Two-Goal Games 12-4-0-0 6-10-0-0 straight games between April 25 and May 21. OT/Shootout Games 6-0-3-1 8-0-10-3 More Penalties than Opponent 16-5-1-1 8-4-2-1 Herbert Breaks Through Less Penalties than Opponent 17-8-2-0 18-16-6-2 Forward Caleb Herbert scored his first goal of the 2021 playoffs in Same Amount of Penalties as Opp. 11-1-0-0 8-3-2-0 SC’s Game 1 loss, converting on a power play during the second period. He doubled down in Game 2, scoring the team’s fourth tally Scored three goals 11-2-1-1 8-4-3-1 of the second period on the way to a 4-2 win. The veteran forward Scored four goals 14-0-1-0 7-0-1-0 has an extensive postseason history with the Rays, appearing in 27 Scored five or more goals 13-1-0-0 13-1-1-1 games during the team’s 2015 run to the Kelly Cup Finals and 19 Held to two goals or fewer 6-11-1-0 6-18-5-1 contests the following spring in an Eastern Conference Finals berth. Herbert’s 10 goals in 2016 tied him with Joe Devin for the SC lead Outshooting Opponent 26-4-1-0 16-8-3-1 and were also tied for fifth most in the league. 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 a goal and five assists in the 2021 Following a win 30-10-3-1 18-9-6-0 postseason while appearing in all 11 of South Carolina’s playoff Following a loss 13-4-0-0 15-15-3-3 contests. His assist total is tied for first among ECHL defensemen, while his six points are tied for second among blueliners. Gottlieb, who also played 43 games on defense for Fort Wayne last season, had 23 points in 57 games for SC during 2020-21 (5g, 18a). 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 130. 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 Novak Continues To Produce President...... Rob Concannon Forward Max Novak was one of the stars for SC during the Eastern Conference Finals against Greenville, scoring five points in the four- HOCKEY STAFF game series with three goals and two assists. After only recording Head Coach...... Ryan Blair a single assist in the opening round vs. Florida, Novak came alive Assistant Coach...... Brenden Kotyk in Game 1 of the ECF, scoring twice in a 5-1 win. He then added a Athletic Trainer...... Max Finley pair of assists in the third period of Game 3 to propel SC to a victory Equipment Manager...... Nick Lazor before scoring an insurance goal in the series clincher on Monday. Most recently in Game 2 against Fort Wayne, Novak led the way with a goal and two assists in the Stingrays’ victory. FRANCHISE HISTORY First Season...... 1993 Cooper Finds Higher Gear For Postseason Total Seasons...... 28 Forward Mark Cooper has turned it on for the Rays in the playoffs Overall Record...... 1,119-646-83-136 and is second on the team with eight points (2g, 6a). The attacker Overall Playoff Record...... 130-123 had a breakout performance in Game 4 of the first round at Florida, Winning Seasons...... 27 scoring twice in SC’s 4-2 win to keep their season alive. The Toronto, Regular Season Titles...... 1, 1996-97 Ontario native then set up Dylan Steman for SC’s opening goal Division Championships...... 6 in the decisive Game 5 and added a second helper on Cole Ully’s Conference Championships...... 6 game-winner. Cooper kept it going in the Eastern Conference Finals, Kelly Cups...... 3 recording assists in the first three games. HOCKEY INFORMATION Blair Guides Rays To Postseason Success 2019-20 Overall Record...... 44-14-3-1 Stingrays’ bench boss Ryan Blair completed his first season as the 2019-20 vs. South...... 38-11-3-1 team’s head coach in 2020-21 after serving as an assistant coach with the club in 2019-20. Blair is the fifth coach to lead his team to Returning Players...... 11 the Kelly Cup Finals in his first season behind the bench, joining Newcomers...... 16 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 COMMUNICATIONS ECHL championship. Address...... 5050 Etna St., Suite B Contact...... Jared Shafran Komets Take Kelly Cup Finals Game 1, 7-2 Email...... [email protected] The Fort Wayne Komets took Game 1 of the 2021 Kelly Cup Finals Office Phone...... 843-744-2248 Friday night at the Carolina Ice Palace, defeating South Carolina by Rays Facebook...... /SCStingraysHockey a final score of 7-2 behind a hat trick by forward Brandon Hawkins Rays Twitter...... @SCStingrays and 25 saves from goaltender Dylan Ferguson. Stingrays goals both Rays Instagram...... @scstingrayshockey came on the power play from forward Caleb Herbert and defender Max Gottlieb. Fort Wayne ended at 1-for-4 on the man-advantage and had a 32-27 edge in shots on goal in the contest. MEDIA INFORMATION Stingrays Advance To 2021 Kelly Cup Finals Goals from Brett Supinski and Max Novak along with 29 saves from Watch:...... FloHockey goaltender Hunter Shepard sent South Carolina past the Greenville Listen:...... Caps Radio 24/7 & Mixlr Play-By-Play: Jared Shafran | Color: Nick Harvey Swamp Rabbits and into the 2021 Kelly Cup Finals with a 2-1 victory on Monday night at the Carolina Ice Palace. In total, Greenville led Live Stats Link:...... bit.ly/ECHLlive in shots-on-goal 30-23 with goaltender John Lethemon stopping In-game Updates:...... @SCStingrays 21 shots in a losing effort. South Carolina was 1-for-6 on the man- advantage and held the Swamp Rabbits to 0-for-1.

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