NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C. - The South Carolina Stingrays begin the quest for their fourth Kelly Cup in franchise history with the Atlanta Gladiators in the South Division Semifinals of the 2026 Kelly Cup Playoffs, presented by Plumb Pro+. 

This series is the first time that the Stingrays and Gladiators will meet in the playoffs since meeting in two straight seasons in 2012 and 2013. The two clubs have met four times in the playoffs, splitting the matchups. 

Under the direction of first-year Head Coach Dave Warsofsky, South Carolina finished the regular season with a 45-23-1-3 record with 94 points, good for second place in the South Division. Warsofsky’s 45 wins are the third most by a Stingrays Head Coach in their first season, only behind Jared Nightingale’s 52 wins last season and Jared Bednar’s 47 wins in the 2007-08 season. 

Atlanta returns to the playoffs for the first time since the 2021-22 season under first-year Head Coach Matt Ginn. The Gladiators finished the regular season 44-23-4-1 with 93 points, one point behind the Stingrays. 

STINGRAYS STATISTICAL LEADERS 

Goals: Simon Pinard (30)

Assists: Simon Pinard (43)

Points: Simon Pinard (73)

Plus/Minus: Nolan Krenzen (+22)

Penalty Minutes: Ben Hawerchuk (124)

Power Play Goals: Kyler Kupka (7)

GLADIATORS STATISTICAL LEADERS

Goals: Jack O’Brien (28)

Assists: Chad Nychuk (45)

Points: Alex Young (59)

Plus/Minus: Brendan Less (+26)

Penalty Minutes: Ryan Conroy (68)

Power Play Goals: Alex Young (9)

RECAPPING THE REGULAR SEASON MATCHUP: 

South Carolina and Atlanta met nine times in the regular season, with the Stingrays posting a 5-3-1 record against the Gladiators. South Carolina went 4-1-0 at home this season against Atlanta, while the Stingrays were 1-2-1 in Duluth. The scoring in the season series was tied at 23 goals for each team, leaving little separation between the clubs. 

HOME-ICE ADVANTAGE:
The Stingrays finished the regular season with the second most home wins in the ECHL with 26, trailing only Brabham Cup winning Kansas City with 27. Atlanta was very good at home as well, winning 24 games at Gas South Arena, making home-ice advantage that much more important in this first-round series. 

PENALTY KILLERS:
South Carolina was the most penalized team in the ECHL this season, but had one of the best penalty kill units in the league. This season, the Stingrays penalty kill worked at 85.4 percent, the fourth best in the ECHL. In the season series with the Gladiators, South Carolina killed off 33 of 34 penalties. 

THE QUEST 4 KELLY:
Each round of the 2026 Kelly Cup Playoffs, presented by Plumb Pro+, is a best-of-seven series. The Stingrays are only guaranteed home-ice advantage in the South Division Semifinals. The full schedule for the South Division Semifinals can be viewed here. Fans can view the full Kelly Cup Playoffs bracket here. 

A FAST START:
The Stingrays had their best success this season when having good starts. South Carolina went 28-4-2 when scoring first, while posting a 23-3-1 record when leading after the first period. When leading after 40 minutes, South Carolina went 33-1-2. 31 of Atlanta’s 44 wins in the regular season came when scoring first. 

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