Even Steven: the upcoming 1st round playoff matchup between South Carolina and Atlanta is as even as they come

The ECHL season (2 levels below the NHL) is a grind.

After a 72 game regular season (which starts in mid-October and concludes in mid-April), of the 30 teams that are in the league, the top-16 teams (4 teams from each division) earn the right to play in another gauntlet, the postseason, along with pursuit of the league's ultimate prize, the Kelly Cup.

The 1st round of the playoffs are within the division (the 1st place team plays the 4th place team while the 2nd and 3rd place teams square off against each other), so on top of the division-loaded regular season play, teams who generally have a dislike for each other get to do it again for the first 2 rounds of the playoffs.

In the case of the South Carolina Stingrays and Atlanta Gladiators, their matchup is arguably the most evenly matched of all the 1st round playoff series (and one you should keep an eye out on), as their series opens this Friday, April 24th (7:05pm EST puck drop at the North Charleston Coliseum & Performing Arts Center).

During the regular season, the Glads have the edge in their head-to-head matchups as they go 4-3-2-0 against the Stingrays; however, the Stingrays finish with 94 points to barely finish ahead of the Glads (93 points) for 2nd place and home ice advantage in their best of 7 series.

Just how evenly matched are these teams? Take a look at the following stats:

• Defense is the calling card of Atlanta, as they finish 5th in the ECHL in goals allowed per game (2.54). They also have arguably the best goaltending tandem in the league thanks to ECHL All-Star/1st Team All-Rookie goaltender T.J. Semptimphelter (20-12-2-1/1 shutout/2.28 goals allowed average/.917 save percentage) and Ethan Haider (24-11-2-0/2 shutouts/2.48 goals allowed per game/.920) as both are respectively 5th and 13th (among qualified goalies) in the league in goals allowed per game. South Carolina's defense is not far behind as they finish 10th in the league in scoring defense (2.83 goals allowed per game) and their primary goaltender, Seth Eisele, finishes 9th in goals allowed per game (18-7-1-0/3 shutouts/2.37 goals allowed per game/.919 save percentage.

• On offense, South Carolina finishes just outside top third of the league (12th overall) in goals per game (3.10 goals per game) while Atlanta scores just under 3 goals per game (2.90 goas per game/good for 19th overall). South Carolina's Simon Pinard (30 goals/43 assists/73 points/+9 rating) finishes 4th in the league in scoring, but is the only Stingray to have more than 45 points. As for Atlanta, leading scorer Alex Young (27 goals/32 assists/59 points/+5 rating), ECHL All-Star Jack O'Brien (28 goals/23 assists/51 points/+4 rating), and ECHL 1st team defenseman Chad Nychuk (8 goals/45 assists/53 points/+17 rating) are among the Glads players who pace the offense (which shows growth throughout the season). And add the emergence of Iask Walther who is in the top-20 among ECHL rookies in scoring (23 goals/20 assists/43 points/+8 rating), including finishing 2nd among rookies in game-winning goals, and you have some intrigue of the offensive potential emerging at the start of the postseason.

  
  

• Even on the power play and penalty kill, both teams have similar rates of success. The Gladiators score on 17.9% of their power play opportunities (240 this season) while the Stingrays are successful on 18.6% of theirs (210 this season). On the penalty kill, the Glads shut down 81.9% of their opponents' opportunities (232 overall) while the Stingrays do so on 85.4% of theirs (246 overall).

• For both teams, playing from ahead instead of behind is another key to their success. When the Glads score first, they win more than 80% of the time (an overall record of 31-5-1-1). As for the Stingrays, it's a similar success rate (28-4-1-1).

Even in the 3 games we covered during the season, all of them are decided by a single goal (with the Glads outscoring the Stingrays 8-7 in the games we covered). Ranging from the early November matchup (click HERE for the recap), the late November game (click HERE for the recap), and last month's mid-March matchup (which results in a shootout win for the Glads), the teams are very evenly matched.

Starting this Friday along with when the series shifts to the Gas South District, it is shaping up to be a closely contested series similar to what is seen during the regular season.

Buckle up and enjoy the "Even-Steven" playoff ride.

Notes: You may watch our 2025-26 playlist (click HERE) as it includes in-game snapshots and post-game interviews. For our related coverage, you may visit our site (click HERE).