North Charleston, SC – The South Carolina Stingrays defeated the Atlanta Gladiators 3-2 on Friday night at North Charleston Coliseum in Game 1 of the 2026 South Division Semifinals. Adam Eisele scored twice for the Gladiators in the loss, but it was not enough to overcome three unanswered goals from the Stingrays before his second tally late in regulation.

Atlanta and South Carolina dropped the puck on their 5^th ever postseason meeting in the Gladiators return to the postseason for the first time since 2022. Ethan Haider made his Kelly Cup Playoff debut after a regular season in which he went 24-11-2 with a 2.48 GAA, a .920 SV%, and 1 shutout. The Stingrays started goaltender Garin Bjorklund, who the Gladiators did not see in the regular season series. Bjorklund finished the regular season with a record of 5-2 in 8 appearances with a 2.05 GAA, a .935 SV% and 1 shutout.

The first period was chaotic, with the Gladiators killing off a penalty to Andrew Jarvis for slashing early on. 7:58 into the period, South Carolina’s Ryan Hofer checked Jarvis in the head and was issued a match penalty for head contact. About a minute later, the same penalty was handed out to Atlanta’s Josh Davies and with each team having a member in the box for roughing to go along with their respective match penalties, the Gladiators and Stingrays played 3v3 for a moment. Out of all the penalties, neither team scored on the power play. With Alex Young in the box, the Gladiators drew a penalty and at even strength Adam Eisele rifled in the opening goal of the series. Eisele’s goal came with 2:36 left in the period from Ryan Conroy and Isak Walther off a shot from the slot. Atlanta led 1-0 after the first period, with South Carolina leading the shot count 11-7.

While the second period didn’t feature as many penalties as the first, there was no shortage of physicality. The Stingrays got a bounce to go their way, leading to their first goal of the series, as 9:02 into the second frame a blocked shot led to a rebound for Jalen Luypen who scored to make it 1-1. Luypen’s goal came from Ludwig Persson to tie the game. The contest remained tied after two periods, with the Stingrays outshooting the Gladiators 20-18.

South Carolina spotted itself the largest lead of the night with two more goals to take a 3-1 lead. 2:50 into the period, Charlie Combs scored from beneath the right circle to make it 2-1. Stan Cooley was able to hold the zone and found Combs open for the score. Then, 6:21 into the period, Haider thought he had the puck but the whistle never blew, and the Stingrays fished the puck free and scored. D.J. King scored from Kyler Kupka and Justin Nachbaur to make it a 3-1 South Carolina lead. The Gladiators tried to claw their way back, but came up empty handed on a late power play attempt. However, they did score again with 5.3 seconds to play, as Eisele punched in his second on a swift play from Chad Nychuk and Joey Cipollone. Time ran out on the comeback, and the Stingrays took Game 1 by the final score of 3-2. Bjorklund stopped 29/31 for the Stingrays, while Haider stopped 27/30 for the Gladiators in what was a great night for both goaltenders. Atlanta went 0/3 on the power play and 5/5 on the penalty kill in the loss.

The Gladiators look to even the series on Saturday night at North Charleston Coliseum in Game 2 of the South Division Semifinals. Puck drop is set for 6:05 PM EDT, with coverage on the Gladiators Broadcast Network on FloHockey and YouTube beginning at 5:45 PM.