NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C. - The South Carolina Stingrays earned a thrilling 4-3 overtime victory in their Home Opener over the Greenville Swamp Rabbits on Saturday night at the North Charleston Coliseum in front of a crowd of 6,828.

South Carolina led for a majority of the game before a late goal from the Swamp Rabbits evened the score. Alex Dostie netted his first two goals as a Stingray, while it was Tyler Kopff who found the back of the net in overtime to win it for South Carolina. Ben Kraws made his debut between the pipes for the Stingrays, stopping 25 of 28 shots. 

“We were on our heels a little bit, but I think that's what good teams do,” Head Coach Jesse Kallechy said. “Good teams find a way to win.” 

The Stingrays went on their first power play of the game midway through the first period, when Tyler Weiss beat Greenville netminder, Mattias Sholl, glove side for the game’s first goal.

Later in the period, the Stingrays’ forecheck turned into offense as Dostie finished a feed from Jérémie Biakabutuka to extend the lead to two with 4:49 remaining in the first period. 

In the final minutes of the opening frame, a turnover in the defensive zone by South Carolina gave Greenville’s Blake Bennett a point blank look on Kraws, who scored to cut the lead in half heading into the second period.

South Carolina had a breakaway opportunity early in the middle frame but was turned away by Sholl. One minute later, the Stingrays broke through again with Dostie finishing a give-and-go on the rush for his second of the game to go back up two, 3-1.

Midway through the period, the Swamp Rabbits responded with a one-timer by Brendan Gorman that got past Kraws to make it a one-goal game with 9:15 remaining in the second period.

Greenville had a slew of chances to equalize in the third period, but it wasn’t until the final four minutes until Neil Shea ripped the tying goal past Kraws, sending the game into overtime.

The Stingrays dominated possession in overtime, stealing the offensive momentum from the Swamp Rabbits. Kopff earned the role as hero, with his netfront finish ending the sudden death overtime, lifting the Stingrays past the Swamp Rabbits, 4-3. 

“I thought their coverage was a little too condensed,”  Kopff said, " I just tried to slow myself up and [Alex Gaffney] made a great play. All I had to do was finish.”

South Carolina starts the 2026-27 season 2-0-0 and now begins a two-game road trip next Friday against the Savannah Ghost Pirates. Puck drop is slated for 7 p.m. from Enmarket Arena in Savannah, Ga.  

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The Stingrays return to the North Charleston Coliseum on Friday, October 30th for Emo Night, presented by Fan Cave Tickets, against the Savannah Ghost Pirates at 7:05 p.m. The full schedule can be viewed on our website here.

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