SOUTH CAROLINA STINGRAYS HOCKEY

SOUTH CAROLINA STINGRAYS HOCKEY 3300 W. Montague Ave. Suite A-200 - North Charleston, SC 29418

Jared Shafran, Director of Media Relations and Broadcasting | [email protected] | (843) 744-2248 ext. 1203

2017-18 SCHEDULE

October

Fri • 20th Sat • 21st Fri • 27th Sat • 28th

vs. Greenville Swamp Rabbits

Fri • 3rd Sun • 5th Tue • 7th Wed • 8th Fri • 10th Sat • 11th Tue • 14th Sat • 18th Sun • 19th Thu • 23rd Sat • 25th Sun • 26th

@ Greenville Swamp Rabbits

Sat • 2nd Sun • 3rd Tue • 5th Thu • 7th Sat • 9th Sun • 10th Wed • 13th Fri • 15th Sat • 16th Thu • 21st Fri • 22nd Sat • 23rd Fri • 29th Sat • 30th

vs. Orlando Solar Bears

@ Atlanta Gladiators vs. Atlanta Gladiators

L, 2-4 L, 4-5 OT W, 8-2 W, 4-2 W, 3-1 W, 4-1 W, 4-2 L, 3-4 W, 1-0 W, 3-1 L, 3-4 W, 3-2 SO L, 2-4 W, 3-1

Fri • 5th Sat • 6th Tue • 9th Fri • 12th Sat • 13th Sun • 14th Fri • 19th Sat • 20th Wed • 24th Fri • 26th Sat • 27th Sun • 28th Tue • 30th

vs. Florida Everblades vs. Florida Everblades vs. Norfolk Admirals vs. Atlanta Gladiators vs. Orlando Solar Bears vs. Jacksonville Icemen @ Norfolk Admirals @ Norfolk Admirals @Jacksonville Icemen vs. Orlando Solar Bears vs. Orlando Solar Bears vs. Norfolk Admirals vs. Norfolk Admirals

W, 5-2 L, 3-5 W, 5-4 OT W, 3-1 L, 1-2 W, 3-1 W, 3-2 OT L, 2-3 OT L, 0-1 W, 3-1 7:05 p.m. 3:05 p.m. 7:05 p.m.

Fri • 2nd Sat • 3rd Fri • 9th Sat • 10th Sun • 11th Fri • 16th Tue • 20th Fri • 23rd Sat • 24th Wed • 28th

vs. Orlando Solar Bears @ Jacksonville Icemen @ Worcester Railers @ Manchester Monarchs @ Manchester Monarchs vs. Jacksonville Icemen vs. Norfolk Admirals vs. Brampton Beast vs. Brampton Beast @ Cincinnati Cyclones

7:05 p.m. 7:30 p.m. 7:05 p.m. 6:00 p.m. 3:00 p.m. 7:05 p.m. 7:05 p.m. 7:05 p.m. 7:05 p.m. 7:35 p.m.

@ Toledo Walleye @ Toledo Walleye

7:15 p.m. 7:15 p.m. 7:00 p.m. 7:05 p.m. 7:05 p.m. 3:05 p.m. 7:05 p.m. 7:05 p.m. 7:05 p.m. 7:00 p.m. 7:00 p.m. 1:30 p.m. 7:05 p.m. 7:30 p.m. 7:30 p.m.

November

December

January

February

March

Fri • 2nd Sat • 3rd Tue • 6th Fri • 9th Sat • 10th Sun • 11th Thu • 15th Fri • 16th Mon • 19th Wed • 21st Fri • 23rd Sun • 25th Tue • 27th Fri • 30th Sat • 31st

@ Jacksonville Icemen @ Norfolk Admirals @ Norfolk Admirals

vs. Jacksonville Icemen vs. Reading Royals vs. Reading Royals vs. Atlanta Gladiators vs. Atlanta Gladiators @ Jacksonville Icemen

vs. Greenville Swamp Rabbits

@ Atlanta Gladiators @ Atlanta Gladiators @ Orlando Solar Bears @ Orlando Solar Bears

vs. Greenville Swamp Rabbits vs. Greenville Swamp Rabbits @ Greenville Swamp Rabbits

vs. Atlanta Gladiators @ Atlanta Gladiators @ Florida Everblades @ Florida Everblades @ Florida Everblades

@ Greenville Swamp Rabbits

vs. Atlanta Gladiators

@ Greenville Swamp Rabbits

@ Greenville Swamp Rabbits vs. Greenville Swamp Rabbits

vs. Atlanta Gladiators vs. Jacksonville Icemen vs. Idaho Steelheads vs. Idaho Steelheads @ Atlanta Gladiators @ Orlando Solar Bears @ Orlando Solar Bears @ Orlando Solar Bears vs. Kalamazoo Wings @ Jacksonville Icemen @ Jacksonville Icemen

April

Tue • 3rd Thu • 5th Fri • 6th Sun • 8th

vs. Florida Everblades

@ Greenville Swamp Rabbits @ Greenville Swamp Rabbits

vs. Orlando Solar Bears

Orlando Solar Bears vs. South Carolina Stingrays

W, 4-3 W, 3-2 W, 5-4 W, 5-2

Saturday, January 27 • North Charleston, SC

2017-18 Team Comparison (ECHL Rank) Orlando South Carolina

L, 2-3 W, 3-1 W, 4-3 OT W, 2-1 L, 2-3 OT L, 1-2 OT L, 2-5 W, 4-3 OT W, 3-2 OT W, 2-1 L, 2-3 L, 2-3 SO

7:05 p.m. 7:00 p.m. 7:00 p.m. 3:05 p.m.



GF/G GA/G PP% PK%

2.98 (19th) 3.43 (22nd) 16.0% (18th) 84.3% (12th)

18-18-5-1

3.03 (16th) 2.40 (1st) 14.9% (22nd) 90.1% (1st) 25-10-4-1

Rays Fans To Pack The House Satruday For Stingrays and Solar Bears The South Carolina Stingrays take on the Orlando Solar Bears Saturday night for the second meeting of the weekend between the two South Division rivals. Friday night’s contest went to the Stingrays after the squad scored three times in the opening minutes of the third period and held on for a 3-1 victory. The defeat of Orlando was the first of the season for South Carolina after coming up empty in the first four meetings between the two this season. The Stingrays are in second place in the South Division with 55 points, while Orlando is in fourth with 42 points and in possession of the final playoff spot in the table. South Carolina boasts the top defense and penalty killing unit in the ECHL, allowing just 2.40 goals per game while discarding 90.1% of opponents’ power play opportunities this year. The two teams have almost identical scoring averages, with the Stingrays coming in at just over three goals per game, while the Solar Bears average 2.98. Orlando ranks 12th in the ECHL on the penalty kill with a rate of 84.3% and have played well when getting out to an early lead with a record of 10-2-1 after scoring the first goal. Stingrays Sprint Past Solar Bears In Third Period A three-goal outburst at the start of the third period propelled the South Carolina Stingrays to a 3-1 victory over the Orlando Solar Bears Friday night at the North Charleston Coliseum. The home tallies all came in a span of fewer than three minutes at the start of the final frame, with Kelly Zajac, Hampus Gustafsson and Danny Federico each scoring for the Stingrays. Defenseman Frankie Simonelli chipped in with two assists, while goaltender Jeff Jakaitis turned aside 19 shots and earned the win in between the pipes.

2017-18 ECHL South Division Standings

JACK

SONV

ILLE

GP Florida Everblades 41 South Carolina Stingrays 40 Atlanta Gladiators 45 Orlando Solar Bears 42 Greenville Swamp Rabbits 43 Norfolk Admirals 41 Jacksonville Icemen 42

W 29 25 21 18 18 16 14

L OTL SOL PTS PCT GF GA 8 1 3 62 0.756 146 107 10 4 1 55 0.688 121 96 21 1 2 45 0.500 132 147 18 5 1 42 0.500 125 144 21 3 1 40 0.465 142 168 19 5 1 38 0.463 132 154 23 3 2 33 0.393 121 150

SOUTH CAROLINA STINGRAYS HOCKEY Scouting The Solar Bears Orlando is in fourth place in the ECHL’s South Division with a .500 record and 42 points thru 42 games during the 2017-18 year. Forward Joshua Winquist has led the way offensively with 38 points on 14 goals and 24 assists while playing in 34 of the team’s contests. Forward Hunter Fejes has made a major impact to the team’s offense since coming over in a trade with Wheeling. He has totaled 34 points on 20 goals and 14 assists in 41 total games this year. Defenseman Nolan Valleau is having a big year on the blue line with 30 points in 36 games and after an appearance in the 2018 ECHL Classic, has received an AHL call-up to the team’s affiliate, the Toronto Marlies. Forward Max Novak has also been a major offensive contributor with 33 points on 12 goals and 21 assists. Goaltender Cal Heeter has made more starts than any other Solar Bears’ netminder, appearing in 28 games and has a goals against average of 2.90 with a save percentage at 0.907. All-Time History vs. Orlando South Carolina has an all-time record of 29-12-4-5 vs. the Solar Bears, with the two teams having faced each other an even 50 times over the last six seasons. A year ago, SC and Orlando split their eight matchups evenly with each side winning four apiece. Saturday’s contest is the sixth meeting between the two division foes, with the Stingrays having only won one of the first five in the season series. After their second matchup of the weekend, the two will be past the halfway mark in this year’s series, which consists of 11 total meetings during the 2017-18 slate. Gus Gets Going Hampus Gustafsson scored his first professional goal last Friday night in a win over Norfolk. It didn’t take long for him to get his second tally, scoring again the following night during the second period. He returned home Friday and struck for his first goal in front of the fans in North Charleston in the third period of a win over Orlando. Gustafsson is in his rookie season and now has four total points for South Carolina through his first 13 ECHL games. Simonelli Returns To The Scoresheet Defenseman Frankie Simonelli leads the Stingrays’ blueliners with 24 points on seven goals and 17 assists while appearing in all of the squad’s 40 games this season. After scoring his frist career hat trick against his former team, the Norfolk Admirals, on Jan. 9, the Bensenville, Ill. native was held off the scoresheet in six stright games. But Simonelli got back on track with two assists in a win over Orlando on Friday night to begin a 3-in-3 home weekend. Top Dogs On Defense The Stingrays have allowed an average of 2.40 goals per game this season, which gives them the top defensive unit in the ECHL through their first 40 games. Staying Out of the Box South Carolina has been one of the better teams at staying out of the penalty box this season, averaging 12.70 penalty minutes per game through 40 contests. The team’s average is 20th in the league and second-lowest among all South Division teams.

INSIDE THE SERIES Record vs. ORL.........29-12-4-5 Last 10 vs. ORL............. 4-5-0-1 Streak vs. ORL.......... Won One Warsofsky vs. ORL....... 5-7-0-1

First meeting

.............Oct. 25, 2012 (L, 3-5)

Last meeting

............Jan. 26, 2018 (W, 3-1)

SITUATIONAL RECORDS Overall Record vs. South Division vs. North Division vs. Central Division vs. Mountain Division Home record Road record Overtime Shootout

2016-17 2017-18 40-28-3-1 25-10-4-1 30-16-3-1 23-10-4-1 6-4-0-0 2-0-0-0 1-2-0-0 0-0-0-0 3-6-0-0 0-0-0-0 22-12-2-0 13-4-3-0 18-16-1-1 12-6-1-1 11-0-3-1 5-4 1-1 1-1

Scoring First Opponent scores first Leading after one period Behind after one period Tied after one period Leading after two periods Behind after two periods Tied after two periods

24-15-0-1 16-13-3-0 17-8-1-0 5-10-1-0 18-10-1-1 20-3-1-1 5-20-1-0 15-5-1-0

15-4-2-1 10-6-2-0 7-2-1-0 5-5-0-0 13-3-3-1 15-0-2-1 4-8-0-0 6-2-2-0

Scoring on the PP Scoreless on the PP Allowing a PPG Opponent Scoreless on the PP

18-13-1-0 22-15-2-1 12-16-2-0 27-13-1-1

11-6-2-0 14-4-2-1 5-5-4-0 20-5-0-1

One-Goal Games Two-Goal Games OT/Shootout Games

19-11-3-1 7-6-0-0 11-0-3-1

12-6-4-1 9-3-0-0 6-0-4-1

More Penalties than Opponent 18-16-2-1 Less Penalties than Opponent 15-7-1-0 Same Amount of Penalties as Opp. 7-5-0-0

8-2-2-1 11-4-1-0 6-4-1-0

Scored three goals Scored four goals Scored five or more goals Held to two goals or fewer

11-3-2-1 7-4-0-0 16-1-0-0 6-20-1-0

11-3-0-0 6-0-1-0 5-0-0-0 3-7-3-1

Outshooting Opponent Outshot by Opponent Shots are Even

26-14-1-0 10-9-2-1 4-5-0-0

16-5-1-0 9-5-3-0 0-0-0-1

Following a win Following a loss

21-16-1-1 19-12-1-0

15-7-2-0 9-3-2-1

South Carolina Stingrays Hockey - #CatchTheFever - Visit stingrayshockey.com for more information

/SCStingraysHockey

@SCStingrays

scstingrayshockey

SCStingraysHockey

SOUTH CAROLINA STINGRAYS HOCKEY Leaders Against Orlando Until the third period of Friday night’s game, South Carolina had struggled to get their offense going against the Solar Bears and goaltender Cal Heeter this season. Heeter has played in all five contests, amounting four wins and allowing less than two goals per game in the process. With a goal last night, Kelly Zajac became the only player on the Stingrays’ roster with two goals against Orlando this season. Zajac is tied with Frankie Simonelli, each amounting four points against the Solar Bears this year. Seven other players have posted two points against Orlando. Goaltender Jeff Jakaitis has started four times against the Solar Bears and has a goals against average of 2.29 with a save percentage at 0.900. Milner Making It Look Easy After securing a win in last Friday’s game, goaltender Parker Milner followed up the performance by allowing just one goal in Jacksonville on Wednesday in a hard-luck 1-0 loss. The netminder is tied for the team lead with 12 victories on the season in 18 appearances. Milner was less than a minute away from recording his first shutout of the season in Norfolk last week, but a last-minute comeback by the Admirals spoiled that chance. Then on Wednesday the Pittsburgh native saw just 10 shots, with his team carrying the play in front of him. Still, Milner’s goals-against average dropped to 2.34, which is sixth-best in the ECHL. The Pittsburgh, Pa. native has won in three of his last four appearances during the last few weeks. Shooting To Win The Stingrays have a 16-5-1 record when outshooting their opponent this season. SC has some of the most impressive defensive statistics in the league, allowing just 27.03 shots on goal per game, which is the lowest number in the ECHL. In total, the Rays have allowed less shots on goal than every other team this season. Lotz Makes 28 Saves To Shut Down Stingrays Jacksonville Icemen goaltender Austin Lotz stole the show Wednesday night at the Veterans Memorial Arena, shutting out the South Carolina Stingrays while making 28 saves in a 1-0 decision. The Stingrays had the edge in play for most of the night, allowing just 10 total shots on goal, including just one in the second period. Goaltender Parker Milner stopped nine shots in a losing effort for the Rays. The Icemen got their only goal during their third power play of the first period when captain Garet Hunt redirected a shot by Chris Dienes past Milner to make it 1-0 Jacksonville at 16:07. Admirals Top Stingrays 3-2 In Overtime An overtime goal by Grant Besse gave the Norfolk Admirals a 3-2 win over the South Carolina Stingrays on Saturday night at the Norfolk Scope. Forwards Kelly Zajac and Hampus Gustafsson had the goals for the Stingrays in a losing effort. After South Carolina had the early edge in shots on goal 15-8 after the first period, the Admirals controlled the chances for the remainder of the game and had a 32-30 shots advantage overall on the night. Besse scored the game-winner for Norfolk at 4:37 of the extra session, securing an extra point for the Admirals by beating Adam Carlson on a shot that snuck in with just 22 seconds remaining.

SOUTH CAROLINA IN BRIEF TEAM INFORMATION Location.....................North Charleston, S.C. Nickname........................................... Stingrays Colors........................................... Blue and Red Home Rink...... North Charleston Coliseum Capacity......................................................7,250 League.........................................................ECHL President............................... Rob Concannon

HOCKEY STAFF Head Coach...........................Ryan Warsofsky Assistant Coach......................... Steve Bergin Athletic Trainer............................ Rick Covard Equipment Manager.........Cameron Parker

FRANCHISE HISTORY First Season.................................................1993 Total Seasons..................................................25 Overall Record.....................959-561-59-130 Winning Seasons...........................................24 Regular Season Titles...................1, 1996-97 Division Championships............................... 6 Conference Championships........................ 5 Kelly Cups........................................................... 3 HOCKEY INFORMATION 2016-17 Overall Record................ 40-28-3-1 2015-16 vs. South........................... 30-16-3-1 Returning Players..........................................15 Newcomers......................................................11 Captain...............................................Joe Devin Alternate Captain.......................Patrick Gaul Alternate Captain.....................Trevor Gillies COMMUNICATIONS Address...................3300 W. Montague Ave. Contact....................................... Jared Shafran [email protected] Office Phone.............................843-744-2248 Rays Facebook............ /SCStingraysHockey Rays Twitter............................... @SCStingrays Rays Instagram............@scstingrayshockey



MEDIA INFORMATION

Watch:...............................................ECHL.TV Listen:.....................................................Mixlr Play-by-Play: Jared Shafran | Andrew Miller

Live Stats Link:........................ bit.ly/ECHLlive In-game Updates:................. @SCStingrays

South Carolina Stingrays Hockey - #CatchTheFever - Visit stingrayshockey.com for more information

/SCStingraysHockey

@SCStingrays

scstingrayshockey

SCStingraysHockey