ECHL South Carolina Stingrays

Kelly Cup Finals Preview: Game 1: SC vs. FW, June 25 at 7:05 PM

Published on June 25, 2021 under ECHL (ECHL)
South Carolina Stingrays News Release


SC Stingrays vs. Fort Wayne Komets

Kelly Cup Finals Game 1

Friday, June 25, 2021 at the Carolina Ice Palace at 7:05 PM

Broadcast Info: Watch live on FloHockey | Listen via Caps Radio 24/7 & Mixlr

About Tonight's Game: The South Carolina Stingrays are set to make their ECHL-best sixth appearance in the Kelly Cup Finals beginning with Game 1 Friday night against the Fort Wayne Komets at the Carolina Ice Palace. South Carolina defeated the Greenville Swamp Rabbits 2-1 on Monday night to claim in the E.A. "Bud" Gingher Trophy as Eastern Conference champions, winning 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 appearance by defeating the Allen Americans in overtime on Tuesday, also earning a 3-1 series win. The Komets were the No. 3 seed in the west after finishing the regular season with a .618 points percentage. SC wrapped up the regular season as one of the hottest teams in the league, winning their last six games to secure a spot in the playoffs. The Rays have earned a spot in the ECHL's postseason 27 times in the team's 28-year history, finishing 2020-21 with a .579 points percentage. South Carolina swept Fort Wayne in three prior meetings during the regular season in North Charleston, winning by scores of 2-1, 5-1 and 5-2 March 19-21.

Scouting the Komets: Fort Wayne finished the regular season in third place in the ECHL's Western Conference before defeating Wichita and Allen in the Kelly Cup Playoffs on their way to the championship round. Fort Wayne's offensive attack was led by Brandon Hawkins during the regular season, who posted a team-high 23 goals and 39 points in 37 games. Rookie defender Randy Gazzola was also impressive from the blue line, leading the club with 29 assists and totaling 33 points. In nine postseason contests, the Komets have been led by Anthony Nellis who has five goals and nine points, as well as Stephen Harper who has totaled seven helpers and nine points. In net, Dylan Ferguson has started all nine playoff games after appearing in 11 regular season contests and earning a 1.96 goals-against average. Ferguson has a 3.02 GAA in postseason play.

Kelly Cup Finals Schedule

Game 1 - Fort Wayne at South Carolina - Friday, June 25 at 7:05 p.m.

Game 2 - Fort Wayne at South Carolina - Sunday, June 27 at 6:05 p.m.

Game 3 - South Carolina at Fort Wayne - Wednesday, June 30 at 7:30 p.m.

*Game 4 - South Carolina at Fort Wayne - Friday, July 2 at 8:00 p.m.

*Game 5 - South Carolina at Fort Wayne - Saturday, July 3 at 7:30 p.m.

*if necessary

Check out the South Carolina Stingrays Statistics

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