In a physical battle that saw regulation 3-on-3 at one point, the South Carolina Stingrays had five men with two points to take care of the scoreboard. The Stingrays win the first game of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals by a final of 4-1.
The Rays had to get reacquainted with the Wings Event Center, an arena they had not visited since March 7, 2014. The benches are placed on opposite sides of the neutral zone with the penalty boxes on the Kalamazoo side, much like an NCAA rink. The familiarity worked to Kalamazoo’s advantage, striking first with Ludwig Blomstrand on the power play.