ECHL South Carolina Stingrays

Kelly Cup Playoff Preview: Eastern Conference Finals - #1 Toledo vs. #2 South Carolina

Published on May 14, 2015 under ECHL (ECHL)
South Carolina Stingrays News Release


North Charleston, S.C. - The South Carolina Stingrays tangle with Toledo Walleye in the third round, the Eastern Conference Finals, of the 2015 Kelly Cup Playoffs in a best-of-seven series starting Friday, May 15 at Huntington Center in Toledo, Ohio.

#1 Toledo Walleye vs. #2 South Carolina Stingrays

Game 1: Friday, May 15 at Toledo 7:35 p.m.

Game 2: Saturday, May 16 at Toledo 8:05 p.m.

Game 3: Wednesday, May 20 at South Carolina 7:05 p.m. Tickets

Game 4: Friday, May 22 at South Carolina 7:05 p.m. Tickets

*Game 5: Saturday, May 23 at South Carolina 7:05 p.m.

*Game 6: Tuesday, May 26 at Toledo 7:35 p.m.

*Game 7: Wednesday, May 27 at Toledo 7:35 p.m.

*if necessary

ECHL Series Matchup Sheet

How We Got Here

South Carolina Stingrays:

The Stingrays defeated the Reading Royals four games to three in the opening round, scoring three goals in the final period of Game 7 to rally for a 3-2 win. In the second round, the Stingrays jumped out to a commanding 3-0 series lead over the Florida Everblades in the East Division Finals behind two multiple-goal road victories in Game 1 and Game 2 down at Germain Arena in Estero, Florida and a 3-2 triumph in Game 3 at the North Charleston Coliseum. The Everblades rejected elimination in Game 4 and Game 5 with triple overtime and double overtime wins to force the series back to Southwest Florida. In Game 6 Monday night, the Stingrays took a 2-0 lead into the second intermission and added three goals in the final frame to cruise to a 5-2 victory and the series win.

The Stingrays are appearing in the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time since 2009 and the fifth time in team history. In 2009, the Stingrays took on the Cincinnati Cylcones, earning a 4-0 series sweep en route to their ECHL-record third Kelly Cup Finals appearance and Championship. Forward Wayne Simpson, who scored three goals and five assists for eight points over the last three games of the Florida series, leads the Stingrays and is second in the ECHL postseason scoring race with 18 points (six goals, 12 assists). The Stingrays enter the Huntington Center on a three-game playoff road winning streak and hold the best road playoff record standing 5-1.

Toledo Walleye:

Like the Stingrays, the Walleye needed all seven games to close their first-round series against the Wheeling Nailers and wrapped up a seven-game set against the Fort Wayne Komets Wednesday night on home ice. All three of the Komets' victories came in overtime (Game 3, Game 4 and Game 6), three of the four Toledo triumphs were decided by three goals and all four Walleye wins came on home ice. With the Game 7 win, the Walleye are the fourth team in ECHL history to win two Game 7s in the same playoff season. Rookie forward Shane Berschbach leads the ECHL postseason scoring with 19 points (six goals, 13 assists), earned at least a point in every game of their series against Fort Wayne and registered a goal and two assists in Game 7 Wednesday night. The Walleye host the best home playoff record at 6-2, are on a five-game home winning streak and appearing in the Conference Finals for the first time since the Toledo Storm advanced in 2006.

2014-15 Season

South Carolina Stingrays:

The Stingrays wrapped up their 22nd season of hockey in the Lowcountry with a 45-20-1-6 record for 97 points finishing second in the East Division and earned the most wins in team history since the 2007-08 campaign (47). Under the direction of 2014 ECHL Coach of the Year and fourth-year bench boss Spencer Carbery, the Stingrays set ECHL records for the longest winning streak (23), longest road winning streak (13) and tied the record for the most consecutive games without a regulation loss (23). The Stingrays also finished the season scoring 224 goals, the most since the 2009-10 season and allowed 163 goals, the fewest in team history. Overall, the Stingrays boasted the best team defense in the ECHL with a 2.26 goals-against average and 25.99 shots-against average. On the penalty kill, the Stingrays finished the regular season first overall in the ECHL at 87.7 percent (32 goals allowed on 260 chances) and first on the road at 89.1 percent (14 goals allowed on 129 chances).

Goaltender Jeff Jakaitis took home an All-ECHL First Team Selection, ECHL Goaltender of the Year award and ECHL M.V.P. after leading the league with a 1.96 goals-against average, placed second with a .924 save percentage and stood sixth with 26 wins. Jakaitis also set a league record with four consecutive shutouts and his 321:46 shutout streak set both an ECHL and minor-league professional hockey record. His 16-game personal winning streak set a new ECHL benchmark, went 17-1-0 in his final 18 decisions and was a part of the team's goaltender group (Adam Morrison, Keegan Asmundson) that posted 12 shutouts this season, a new ECHL record.

Stingrays forward and team captain Andrew Rowe finished fourth in ECHL M.V.P. voting leading the Stingrays with 56 points (17 goals, 39 assists) in 44 games.

Goaltender Adam Morrison placed third in the ECHL Goaltender of the Year vote helping the Stingrays with a 15-5-0-2 record in 23 appearances, a 1.88 goals-against average and .928 save percentage before suffering a season-ending injury.

Head Coach Spencer Carbery finished second in the 2015 ECHL Coach of the Year voting.

Toledo Walleye:

Behind reigning ECHL Coach of the Year Derek Lalonde, the Walleye are coming off of the biggest single-season improvement in ECHL history (58 points) finishing the 2014-15 campaign with an ECHL-best 50-15-5-2 record for 107 points and a Brabham Cup title as the ECHL regular-season points champion after earning just 49 points and 21 wins in 2013-14. This season, the Walleye became the first time to win 50 games since the 2007-08 season. Offensively, the Walleye placed second in the ECHL with a 3.90 goals per game average and netted 281 goals over the 72-game season.

The Walleye boasted the league's best power play and home man-advantage at 24.7 percent (64 goals on 259 chances) and 28.4 percent (38 goals on 134 chances) respectively. Their penalty kill placed second behind the Stingrays at 87.1 percent overall (30 goals allowed on 232 chances) and second at home at 87.7 percent (15 goals allowed on 122 chances). The Walleye also gave up the fewest shorthanded goals this season (1) and are one of only two teams to not give up a shorthanded tally on home ice.

Forward Tyler Barnes earned the ECHL Rookie of the Year award and the recipient of the John A. Daley Memorial Trophy along with an ECHL All-Rookie Team selection after leading all first-year players and the Walleye with 74 points (34 goals, 40 assists) in 71 games this season. His 30 tallies were tied for second among rookies and the 40 assists was tied for second. Barnes also led all rookies with 12 power-play goals and 19 power-play points.

Goaltender Jeff Lerg finished second behind Jakaitis in the ECHL Goaltender of the Year voting with a 32-9-2-1 record, four shutouts, placed fourth in the ECHL with a 2.37 goals-against average and fifth with a .920 save percentage. His 32 wins were the most in the Eastern Conference and second most in the ECHL.

Head to Head History:

The Stingrays went 1-2-0-1 against the Walleye in 2014-15 regular season with three of the four meetings taking place at the North Charleston Coliseum. The Walleye earned their first-ever win (including the Toledo Storm) at the Coliseum in the first meeting of the season on November 4 with a 4-3 shootout win. The two sides came together again at the Coliseum with the Walleye prevailing 4-3 and 7-2 on January 16 and January 18. The lone contest at the Huntington Center came on March 27 with the Stingrays rallying for a 5-3 victory and their ECHL-record 23rd win in a row. Forward Derek DeBlois led the Stingrays in the series with four points (two goals, two assists) while Kyle Bonis led the Walleye with six points (three goals, three assists). In three appearances, Jakaitis went 1-2-0 against the Walleye with a 4.47 goals-against average and .863 save percentage. Lerg went 2-1-0 with a 3.03 GAA and .912 save percentage.

Regular-Season History

South Carolina Stingrays:

With 22 seasons of hockey under their belt, the Stingrays are 2nd in the ECHL records books with 875 wins and third with 175 ties (overtime losses and shootout losses included). In 1,565 games played, the Stingrays hold an 875-515-175 record with the most successful regular-season taking place in 1996-97 (45-15-10, .714 winning percentage).

Toledo Walleye:

Toledo celebrated their 22nd season of ECHL hockey and their sixth as the Walleye this past season with their most successful campaign to date, reaching the 50-win mark for the first time in team history. The Toledo Storm grabbed 48 wins in the 1995-1996 campaign. In six seasons as the Walleye, Toledo holds a 204-186-22-20 record. The Storm went 610-395-16-97 over 16 seasons from 1991-2007. Toledo, Ohio has held other levels of hockey including teams in the MOHL, IND, IHL, OHSHL, EHL, NA3HL, CEHL and NAHL dating back to the early 1940s.

All-Time:

The Stingrays sit 20-3-1 all-time against the Walleye/Storm.

Playoff History

South Carolina Stingrays:

The Stingrays hold a historical presence in the Kelly Cup Playoffs, making the postseason a league-record 21 times, appearing in 178 games (1st in league history) and stand second in the ECHL records books with 92 wins and first with 86 losses. With the Alaska Aces failing to qualify for the postseason this year, the Stingrays are six wins away from tying the Aces for the most all-time playoff wins. The Stingrays are tied for first in the ECHL with three Kelly Cup titles (1997, 2001, 2009) and are tied for second with three Kelly Cup Finals appearances.

Toledo Walleye:

Toledo is appearing in the Conference Finals for the first time since the Toledo Storm advanced in 2006. The Storm won Riley Cup championships in 1993 and 1994, the last ECHL team to win back-to-back titles, while also advancing to the playoff semifinals in 1996. As the Walleye, Toledo is in the postseason for the third time in their six seasons, reaching the opening round in 2010 and 2013.

All-Time:

The 2015 Eastern Conference Finals marks the first time the Stingrays and a Toledo organization have collided in the postseason.

Check out the South Carolina Stingrays Statistics

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