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ECHL South Carolina Stingrays

Stingrays Playoff Game Preview: Stingrays and Walleye Open Eastern Conference Finals Tonight in Tole

May 15, 2015 - ECHL (ECHL)
South Carolina Stingrays News Release


North Charleston, S.C. - The South Carolina Stingrays visit the Toledo Walleye tonight in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals at 7:35 at the Huntington Center in Toledo, Ohio. Tonight marks the first time the two sides have met in a postseason series.

#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

Where Are We Now:

The Stingrays are battling in the third round of a four-round Kelly Cup Playoffs. The winner of the Eastern Conference Finals will meet the winner of the Western Conference Finals between the Ontario Reign and Allen Americans in the Kelly Cup Finals.

Leading Scorers Clash:

Forward Wayne Simpson, who scored three goals and five assists for eight points over the last three games of the Florida Everblades series, leads the Stingrays and is second in the ECHL postseason scoring race with 18 points (six goals, 12 assists). Walleye 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 best-of-seven series against Fort Wayne and registered a goal and two assists in Game 7 against the Komets Wednesday night.

Road Warriors vs. Home-Ice Advantage:

The Stingrays enter the Huntington Center on a three-game road playoff winning streak and hold the ECHL's best road playoff record, standing 5-1. The Walleye host the best home playoff record at 6-2 and are on a five-game home winning streak.

Top Defense Meets Top Offense:

In the regular season, the Stingrays boasted the best team defense in the ECHL with a 2.26 goals-against average and 25.99 shots-against average. 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.

Coaching Duel:

Stingrays Head Coach Spencer Carbery claimed the 2014 ECHL Coach of the Year award and placed second in the voting this season behind Toledo's Derek Lalonde.

Watch the Stingrays at Southside 17 at Tanger Outlets

Catch every second of the action tonight at Southside 17 at Tanger Outlets! Enjoy great food and drink specials all game! Info and Specials

Regular-Season Recap:

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, Stingrays goaltender Jeff Jakaitis went 1-2-0 against the Walleye with a 4.47 goals-against average and .863 save percentage. Toledo's Jeff Lerg went 2-1-0 with a 3.03 GAA and .912 save percentage.

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.

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.

2015-16 Regular-Season Schedule is Here:

The Stingrays, along with the ECHL, announced the 2015-16 regular season schedule. The schedule features six new teams and a rematch of the 2009 Kelly Cup Finals against the Alaska Aces. The schedule also features 33 of 36 home games on Friday, Saturday or Sunday at the North Charleston Coliseum. View and Download the Schedule

Broadcast Central

Watch: ECHL.TV

Listen Live: StingraysHockey.com

Twitter: @SCStingrays

Facebook: SCStingraysHockey

Game Notes

The Stingrays and Walleye battle in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Finals tomorrow night, Saturday, May 16 at 8:05 at the Huntington Center in Toledo, Ohio. The best-of-seven series moves to the North Charleston Coliseum on Wednesday, May 20 for Game 3 and Game 4 on Friday, May 22 at 7:05. Individual game tickets for the Eastern Conference Finals are ON SALE NOW and available at StingraysHockey.com, by calling the North Charleston Coliseum Box Office at (843) 202-2787 and all Ticketmaster outlets including Ticketmaster.com. Game 5 (if necessary) is Saturday, May 23 at 7:05 p.m. at the Coliseum.

Do not miss a second of the action! 2015-16 Stingrays Ticket Plans are on sale NOW! Save money off of box office prices and receive great benefits like FREE parking, Buddy Passes, discounts off of merchandise, advanced ticket purchases to North Charleston Coliseum and Performing Arts Center events and more!

2014-15 Postseason Record

South Carolina: 8-5

Toledo: 8-6

All-Time Postseason Records

South Carolina: 92-86, 20-22 in Overtime

Toledo: 68-60, 17-13 in Overtime

2014-2015 Records

South Carolina: 45-20-1-6, 97 points (2nd place, East Division)

Toledo: 50-15-5-2, 107 points (1st place, North Division, Brabham Cup Champion)

South Carolina vs. Toledo, 2014-15 Season Schedule (Home Games in Bold, All times Eastern)

Nov. 4 vs. Toledo 4-3 Shootout Loss Box Score

Jan. 16 vs. Toledo 4-3 Loss Box Score

Jan 18 vs. Toledo 7-2 Loss Box Score

Mar. 27 at Toledo 5-3 Win Box Score

South Carolina vs. Toledo, Head-to-Head in 2014-15

1-2-0-1

2013-2014 Records

South Carolina: 43-23-2-4, 92 points (1st place, South Division, 3rd Eastern Conference)

Toledo: 21-44-4-3, 49 points (5th place, North Division, 13th Eastern Conference)

South Carolina vs. Toledo, Head-to-Head in 2013-14

4-0-0-0

Stingrays vs. Toledo, All-Time

20-3-1

Head Coaches

South Carolina: Spencer Carbery (4th year)

Toledo: Derek Lalonde (1st year)

NHL Affiliate

South Carolina: Boston Bruins and Washington Capitals

Toledo: Detroit Red Wings

AHL Affiliate

South Carolina: Providence Bruins and Hershey Bears

Toledo: Grand Rapids Griffins

Check out the South Carolina Stingrays Statistics



ECHL Stories from May 15, 2015


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