South Carolina Stingrays

Pro hockey team
text_color = #C80815
bg_color = #00005D
team = South Carolina Stingrays

logosize = 180px
city = Charleston, South Carolina
league = ECHL
conference = American Conference
division = South Division
founded = 1993
arena = North Charleston Coliseum
colors = Navy Blue, Red, White, Silver
color box|#00005D color box|#C80815 color box|white color box|silver
owner = Anita Zucker, Edwin Pearlstine, Greenwald Family
coach = Jared Bednar
GM = none
media = WTMZ
affiliates = Washington Capitals (NHL), Hershey Bears (AHL)
name1 =
dates1 =
name2 =
dates2 =
note =
reg_season_titles = 1996-97
division_titles = 1994–95, 1996-97, 1997-98 regular season, 2000-01, 2007-08 playoffs
conf_titles = 1996-97, 2000-01
kelly_cups = 1996-97, 2000-01

The South Carolina Stingrays are an ECHL team based in the city of North Charleston, South Carolina, a suburb 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, and currently average 5,000 per game with frequent sellouts during Military Night games.

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, being one of the few active teams to win two championships. They are the first ECHL team to win both a regular season and postseason championship in the same year, with Alaska (2006) and Cincinnati (2008) the other two.

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 Professional 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.

Logos

Quick facts

:Founded: 1993-1994:Arena: North Charleston Coliseum (capacity 10,429):Uniform colors: navy blue, red:Logo design: A stylized stingray swimming upwards.: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)

External links

* [http://stingrayshockey.com/ South Carolina Stingrays]
* [http://www.charleston.net/news/sports/stingrays/ The Post & Courier Stingrays section]