South Carolina Stingrays
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| South Carolina Stingrays | |
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| Founded | 1993 |
| Home ice | North Charleston Coliseum |
| Based in | Charleston, South Carolina |
| Colors | Red, Navy Blue, White |
| League | ECHL |
| President | Darren Abbott |
| Director of Player Development | Jason Fitzsimmons |
| Head Coach | Jared Bednar |
| Owners | Anita Zucker, Edwin Pearlstine, Greenwald Family |
The South Carolina Stingrays are an ECHL team based in the city of North Charleston, South Carolina, a suburb of the metropolitan area of Charleston. Since 2004, the team has been affiliated with the Washington Capitals of the National Hockey League. The Stingrays found success early with an average attendance of over 10,000 fans a game. The attendance continued to hover around 7,000 but has steadily declined due to poor performance on the ice. In the 2007–2008 season an unofficial campaign similar to Detroit's "Hockeytown, USA" will be launch by a group of Stingrays fans named "Hockeyharbor, USA" due to Charleston's location and famous harbor.
The Stingrays play their home games at the North Charleston Coliseum.
The ECHL team began in 1993 with an ownership group which included Marcel Dionne, but was sold shortly afterwards to a local investment group led by Edward Pearlstine, a Charleston businessman, and the team has won two ECHL Kelly Cup Championships, in 1997 and 2001. They are the first ECHL team in the 17-year history to win both a regular season and postseason championship in the same year. (Alaska, in 2006, is the other.)
There are three retired numbers:
12 - Mark Bavis, who played from 1994–96 when the Stingrays were an affiliate of the Buffalo Sabres. Bavis, by then a Los Angeles Kings scout, was killed along with Kings Director of Pro Scouting Garnet Bailey on United Airlines Flight 175 when Al Qaeda terrorists hijacked the airliner, and steered it towards the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001. The Stingrays retired his jersey before the start of the 2001–02 season.
14 - David Seitz, who played from 1996–2004 and was a popular forward on the franchise with team records in goals, assists, and points, including over 200 goals and 500 points overall, fifth on the ECHL's all-time assists list, and two ECHL Kelly Cups. Seitz's retirement, caused by an ECHL restriction on experienced players on a roster after the Stingrays signed players for a road trip, sent shockwaves through the community.
24 - Brett Marietti. A popular player and former captain, Marietti retired after the 2002–03 season, and management promptly retired his jersey in 2003. Marietti's Tenure as captain ranks among the longest in ECHL history for a player to captain a single team.
- Founded: 1993-1994
- Arena: North Charleston Coliseum (capacity 10,429)
- Uniform colors: red, white, navy blue
- Logo design: A stingray eating a hockey stick.
- Affiliates: Washington Capitals (NHL), Hershey Bears (AHL)
- Division titles won: 4 (1994–95, 1996–97, 1997–98, 2000–01)
- Regular season titles won: 1 (1996–97)
- League championships won: 2 (1996–97, 2000–01)
[edit] External links
| Preceded by Charlotte Checkers |
Kelly Cup Champions 1996–97 |
Succeeded by Hampton Roads Admirals |
| Preceded by Peoria Rivermen |
Kelly Cup Champions 2000–01 |
Succeeded by Greenville Grrrowl |
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| American Conference | North | Cincinnati Cyclones · Dayton Bombers · Elmira Jackals · Johnstown Chiefs · Reading Royals · Trenton Devils · Wheeling Nailers |
| South | Augusta Lynx · Charlotte Checkers · Columbia Inferno · Florida Everblades · Gwinnett Gladiators · Mississippi Sea Wolves · Pensacola Ice Pilots · South Carolina Stingrays | |
| National Conference |
Pacific | Bakersfield Condors · Fresno Falcons · Las Vegas Wranglers · Ontario Reign · Stockton Thunder |
| West | Alaska Aces · Idaho Steelheads · Phoenix Roadrunners · Utah Grizzlies · Victoria Salmon Kings | |
| Future teams | Myrtle Beach, SC · Toledo Walleye | |
| Related articles: List of ECHL seasons · Kelly Cup · Brabham Cup · All-Star Game · Awards · Timeline · Defunct teams · Hall of Fame · Arenas · Other Professional Hockey leagues | ||
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| Baseball | SAL: Charleston RiverDogs |
| Football | AIFA: Carolina Sandsharks |
| Hockey | ECHL: South Carolina Stingrays |
| Soccer | USL-1: Charleston Battery |
| College athletics (NCAA Division I) |
Charleston Southern • College of Charleston • The Citadel |
