By Shelby Rabideaux

The Atlanta Gladiators will take on the South Carolina Stingrays in the first round of the 2026 Kelly Cup Playoffs starting on April 24th in North Charleston Coliseum. They will play two games in South Carolina and return to Atlanta for two games at Gas South Arena on Monday April 27th and Tuesday April 28th, both at 7:10 PM. The following games will be determined based on the outcomes of these four games. 

As for the matchup, Atlanta has gone head-to-head with South Carolina nine times in the regular season. Out of the nine games played, the Gladiators have a record of 4-3-2 against South Carolina.

Some key players in the playoffs for the Gladiators will be forward Alex Young who led the team in points for the 25-26 season. Young ended the season with 27 goals, 32 assists for 59 points. Another key forward will be Jack O’Brien who joined the Gladiators in a trade from the Iowa Heartlanders in December. Since joining the team O'Brien has tallied 17 goals and 12 assists with the Gladiators. Now, defense has always been a strong suit when it comes to this team, so expect the defensemen to step up. The Gladiators have a backend of well-rounded players such as Chad Nychuk who leads the team in assists with 45 and has 8 goals of his own. 

An interesting factor to this matchup is the Eisele brothers. Adam Eisele signed with the Gladiators at the end of March after finishing his senior year at Ohio State University. Since joining the Gladiators he’s tacked on 3 goals in 10 games. His brother, Seth Eisele is a goaltender for the Stingrays. Seth Eisele has a record of 18–7-1, a 2.37 GAA, and a .919 SV% in 29 games this season. I spoke to Adam about how he plans to take on this battle, and he told me that it was a one day at a time approach. Surely, he knows a few secrets to help the team in getting pucks in the net! 

As far as goaltending for the Gladiators, expect them to rotate goaltenders Haider and Semptimphelter for these games, as both goalies have been exceptional this season. Haider finished his season with the 3rd most wins in Gladiators history (all-time and in a single season) and Semptimphelter was named to the All-Rookie team for the ECHL and represented the Gladiators at the 2026 ECHL All-Star Classic. 

Some players the Gladiators need to look out for are Simon Pinard and Romain Rodzinski. Pinard is the point leader for the Stingrays with 73 points and was 4th overall in league scoring with 30 goals and 43 assists this season. Defensemen Romain Rodzinski completed his season with 33 points, 9 goals and 24 assists. Three of those goals come from the St. Patrick's themed game at Gas South Arena on 3/15 where Rodzinski was able to pull off a hat trick in Duluth. 

This is a series you don’t want to miss as Atlanta returns to the Kelly Cup Playoffs for the first time since the 2021-22 season! The first game is set for this Friday, April 24th at North Charleston Coliseum with puck drop set for 7:05 PM. Be sure to watch the first game on FloHockey or listen in on YouTube with coverage on the Gladiators Broadcast Network beginning at 6:45 PM.

Tickets for games 3 & 4 at Gas South Arena on Monday, April 27th and Tuesday, April 28th are available HERE! Get your tickets now and join the battle TODAY!