SOUTH CAROLINA STINGRAYS 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) Fort Wayne Komets vs. South Carolina Stingrays Game 1 Monday, June 7 W, 3-2 OT Friday, July 2 • 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 (FW Leads, 2-1) Game 1 Friday, June 25 L, 2-7 Game 2 Sunday, June 27 W, 4-2 Stingrays Face Must-Win Game 4 in Fort Wayne Friday Game 3 Wednesday, June 30 L, 4-6 For the second time during the 2021 Kelly Cup Playoffs the South Carolina Game 4 Friday, July 2 8:00 p.m. Stingrays have their back against the wall heading into a Game 4 on Game 5 Saturday, July 3 7:30 p.m. the road. The Fort Wayne Komets have their first opportunity to claim a Kelly Cup Championship at home Friday night at the Allen County War RAYS TEAM LEADERS Memorial Coliseum after defeating SC 6-4 in Game 3 on Wednesday. Postseason The Komets had the early edge in the series with a lopsided 7-2 win in Game 1 last Friday before the Rays evened the series with a 4-2 decision Goals Game-Winning Goals on Sunday in Game 2. SC is making their ECHL-best sixth appearance Dan DeSalvo, 5 Dan DeSalvo, 2 A. Cherniwchan, 4 Cole Ully, 2 in the championship round after capturing the Eastern Conference and Cole Ully, 4 4 tied, 1 the E.A. “Bud” Gingher Trophy after defeating the Greenville Swamp Max Novak, 4 Power Play Goals Rabbits in four games. Fort Wayne won the Bruce Taylor Trophy as Assists A. Cherniwchan, 2 Western Conference champions to secure their first-ever Kelly Cup Finals Matthew Weis, 9 Brett Supinski, 2 appearance by defeating the Allen Americans in overtime last Tuesday for Cole Ully, 8 Max Novak, 2 a 3-1 series win. The Komets were the No. 3 seed in the west after finishing Mark Cooper, 6 Dan DeSalvo, 2 the regular season with a .618 points percentage. SC wrapped up the Max Novak, 6 Power Play Assists regular season as one of the hottest teams in the league, winning their Points Matthew Weis, 6 last six games to secure a spot in the playoffs. The Rays have earned a spot Matthew Weis, 12 Cole Ully, 5 in the ECHL’s postseason 27 times in the team’s 28-year history. Cole Ully, 12 Max Gottlieb, 4 Max Novak, 10 Justin Florek, 2 Dan DeSalvo, 10 Max Novak, 2 Komets Hold Off Rays 6-4, Take 2-1 Series Lead Mark Cooper, 9 The South Carolina Stingrays put 49 shots on net but were unable to stage Plus-Minus Shots On Net a comeback after falling behind in the first period and were defeated Mark Cooper, +5 Cole Ully, 36 by the Fort Wayne Komets 6-4 in Game 3 of the 2021 Kelly Cup Finals Macoy Erkamps, +2 Mark Cooper, 34 Wednesday night at the Allen County War Memorial Coliseum. Dan Cole Ully, +2 Justin Florek, 34 Matthew Weis, 34 DeSalvo recorded three points in a losing effort with two goals and an Penalty Minutes assist for South Carolina, while Cole Ully earned two assists. A. Cherniwchan, 20 Justin Florek, 12 Dylan Steman, 12 Tyler Nanne, 11 2021 ECHL KELLY CUP PLAYOFFS 3 2 1 1 0 3 4 4 EASTERN 1 3 1 4 3 4 3 2 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 12 postseason contests, the Komets have been led by Anthony Nellis who has eight goals SITUATIONAL RECORDS and 13 points, as well as Stephen Harper who has totaled seven 2019-20 2020-21 helpers and 11 points. In net, Dylan Ferguson has started all 12 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 3.10 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 Overtime 4-3 3-10 in 2012. Prior to Wednesday, all of their previous contests were Shootout 2-1 5-3 played in North Charleston, with the teams splitting a two-game series March 1-2, 2013 as well as a two-game set the following year Scoring First 30-4-2-0 21-5-5-0 on March 28-29. Stingrays’ captain Andrew Cherniwchan scored Opponent scores first 14-10-1-1 13-18-5-3 in the clubs’ first-ever meeting, which the Rays won in a shootout Leading after one period 21-3-1-0 16-5-2-0 by a score of 2-1. Earlier this season, SC swept a 3-game set and Behind after one period 8-6-0-1 6-14-2-3 outscored the Komets 12-4 with wins by scores of 2-1, 5-1 and 5-2. Tied after one period 15-5-2-0 12-4-6-0 Leading after two periods 30-1-2-1 20-1-2-0 Weis Is Nice Behind after two periods 2-10-0-0 4-17-2-3 Forward Matthew Weis had assists on both Stingrays goals during Tied after two periods 12-3-1-0 10-5-6-0 the team’s Eastern Conference clinching performance last Monday and has added assists in each of the first three Kelly Cup Finals Scoring on the PP 22-6-2-0 21-9-6-1 games. The Freehold, N.J. native is second among all ECHL skaters in Scoreless on the PP 22-8-1-1 13-14-4-2 the playoffs with 12 points (3g, 9a) and is on a seven-game playoff Allowing a PPG 11-9-2-1 11-12-7-2 point scoring streak. Weis, who formerly played six games for Fort Opponent Scoreless on the PP 33-5-1-0 23-11-3-1 Wayne in 2018-19, had 28 points in 39 regular season games for One-Goal Games 15-4-3-1 17-5-10-3 SC and produced the second-longest point streak in the league by Two-Goal Games 12-4-0-0 6-10-0-0 scoring in 12 straight games between April 25 and May 21. OT/Shootout Games 6-0-3-1 8-0-10-3

Herbert Breaks Through More Penalties than Opponent 16-5-1-1 8-4-2-1 After being held without a goal in the first two rounds of the Less Penalties than Opponent 17-8-2-0 18-16-6-2 postseason, Stingrays forward Caleb Herbert has scored in each of Same Amount of Penalties as Opp. 11-1-0-0 8-3-2-0 the first three games of the Kelly Cup Finals. The veteran converted on a power play during the second period of Game 1 and capped Scored three goals 11-2-1-1 8-4-3-1 off the scoring in a second period of a 4-2 win in Game 2. In Scored four goals 14-0-1-0 7-0-1-0 Wednesday’s Game 3, Herbert tallied in the third period during an Scored five or more goals 13-1-0-0 13-1-1-1 SC comeback attempt. The Bloomington, Minn. native has appeared Held to two goals or fewer 6-11-1-0 6-18-5-1 in 58 playoff games for SC in his ECHL career. In 2016, Herbert’s 10 postseason goals tied him with Joe Devin for the team lead and also Outshooting Opponent 26-4-1-0 16-8-3-1 equaled the 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 Ully Helping Offense Thrive Forward Cole Ully has posted back-to-back multi-point games for Following a win 30-10-3-1 18-9-6-0 South Carolina in the Kelly Cup Finals, scoring a goal and two assists Following a loss 13-4-0-0 15-15-3-3 in Game 2 before registering two helpers in Game 3. The Calgary, Alberta native is tied for the team lead in playoff scoring with 12 points in 12 postseason contests on four goals and eight assists after leading the club during the regular season with 60 points. 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. In the Rays Game 2 win over Fort Wayne, Novak helped lead 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 fourth on the team with nine points (3g, 6a). The attacker Overall Playoff Record...... 130-124 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 Stingrays Strike Back To Even Finals Series Email...... [email protected] The South Carolina Stingrays scored four times during the second Office Phone...... 843-744-2248 period and defeated the Fort Wayne Komets in Game 2 of the Kelly Rays Facebook...... /SCStingraysHockey Cup Finals by a score of 4-2 to even the series at one game apiece Rays Twitter...... @SCStingrays on Sunday night at the Carolina Ice Palace. Forward Max Novak led Rays Instagram...... @scstingrayshockey the way for South Carolina with a goal and two assists, while Cole Ully had two points with a goal and an assist and goaltender Hunter Shepard turned aside 20 saves to earn his seventh victory of the postseason. MEDIA INFORMATION

Komets Take Kelly Cup Finals Game 1, 7-2 Watch:...... FloHockey The Fort Wayne Komets took Game 1 of the 2021 Kelly Cup Finals Listen:...... Caps Radio 24/7 & Mixlr Play-By-Play: Jared Shafran | Color: Nick Harvey Friday night at the Carolina Ice Palace, defeating South Carolina by a final score of 7-2 behind a hat trick by forward Brandon Hawkins Live Stats Link:...... bit.ly/ECHLlive and 25 saves from goaltender Dylan Ferguson. Stingrays goals both In-game Updates:...... @SCStingrays 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. 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