25 years ago, the 2000-01 South Carolina Stingrays hoisted the second Kelly Cup in franchise history after beating the Trenton Titans in five games in the Kelly Cup Finals.
Capped off by a 3-2 victory in Game Five at the North Charleston Coliseum, the 2001 Stingrays helped set the foundation for professional hockey in the Lowcountry and establish the tradition of South Carolina Stingrays hockey.
On April 4, South Carolina hosts the Greenville Swamp Rabbits on Rock the Retro Night, presented by IBEW Local 776. The organization is set to honor the 2001 Kelly Cup Champions as members of that historic team return to the North Charleston Coliseum.
Among the returners from that season are players who etched their names into Stingrays history. Marty Clapton, Kirk Daubenspeck, Joel Irving, Jody Lehman, Hugo Marchand, Brett Marietti, Damian Prescott, Greg Schmidt, David Seitz, Chris Wheaton will all return to the North Charleston Coliseum along with Head Coach Rick Adduono, Assistant Coach Jason Fitzsimmons and Anita Zucker will all be back at the place where the Stingrays won the club’s only championship while at home.
Head Coach Rick Adduono was in his sixth season on staff with South Carolina and in his third season at the helm of the club. He helped guide South Carolina to a 42-23-7 record and the number one seed in the Southern Conference.
A native of Fort William, Ontario, Adduono was part of the 1997 Kelly Cup Championship team as an Assistant Coach before assuming the Head Coach position in 1998. In four seasons as Head Coach, Adduono went 156-94-34, reaching the Kelly Cup Playoffs in all four seasons.
Assistant Coach, Jason Fitzsimmons, who was the Kelly Cup Playoffs MVP on the 1997 Kelly Cup Championship team, was in his second season as an Assistant Coach for the Stingrays before he became Head Coach two years later in 2002. Fitzsimmons coached the Stingrays for five seasons before becoming a pro scout for the Washington Capitals in 2007. The Regina, Saskatchewan native is now the Director of Minor League Operations for the Capitals and was inducted into the ECHL Hall of Fame in 2024.
Anita Zucker, alongside her late husband Jerry, had been a part of the Stingrays’ ownership group since 1994 and took sole control of the franchise in 2011. She saw the Stingrays win three Kelly Cup Championships. Zucker, who still has a minority interest in the club, has long been ingrained in the Lowcountry community, serving on the Board of Governors at the College of Charleston, past President of the Charleston Metro Chamber of Commerce, and one of the founders of the Education Foundation of the Charleston Metro Chamber of Commerce.
Forward Marty Clapton, who was in his first season with the club, spent the previous three seasons with the Hampton Roads Admirals, winning a Kelly Cup with the Admirals in 1998. A native of Newton, MA, Clapton had 22 points in 2000-01, with eight goals and 14 assists. In the Kelly Cup Playoffs that year, Clapton had 12 points in 17 games, scoring three times and assisting on nine goals. He would go on to play four more seasons with the Stingrays and was inducted into the Stingrays Hall of Fame in 2014.
Kirk Daubenspeck, the winningest goalie in Stingrays history, went 26-13-3 in the regular season that year with a 2.72 goals-against average and a .915 save percentage. The Madison, WI native played for South Carolina for five seasons, finishing his Stingrays career with 95 wins. During the 2002-03 season, Daubenspeck had 36 wins alone, the most in a single season in franchise history. He was inducted into the Stingrays Hall of Fame in 2007.
In his first season with the club, Joel Irving led the Stingrays in penalty minutes during the 2000-01 season with 203 while striking for 20 goals and 24 assists in 68 games. In the Kelly Cup Playoffs that year, Irving had five goals and seven assists including 36 penalty minutes. Irving spent the majority of the next two seasons with the Stingrays and played in 195 games with the club over four seasons.
Joining Daubenspeck between the pipes in 2000-01 was Jody Lehman, who went 16-10-4 with a 2.78 goals-against average and a .918 save percentage. Lehman joined South Carolina in the 1998-99 campaign going 18-7-4 with a 2.72 goals-against average and a .916 save percentage. Over four seasons with the Stingrays, Lehman went 81-52-20. Following the 2001-02 season, Lehman played seven more seasons in the EIHL.
Hugo Marchand joined the Stingrays in 2000 and helped the Stingrays on the blue line that season playing in 50 games, posting a +6 rating and accruing 122 penalty minutes. A native of Montreal, Quebec, Marchand played two more seasons for South Carolina following the 2000-01 campaign, and has served the Lowcountry community as a firefighter.
After joining South Carolina in the 1994-95 season, Brett Marietti is one of the most decorated players to ever wear the red, white and blue. Marietti is second all-time in points (487) in franchise history, second in goals (194) and second in assists (287). The Haileybury, Ontario native was a part of the 1997 Kelly Cup Championship team and won his second Kelly Cup in 2001, after posting 62 points (22g, 40) in the regular season and producing 12 points (5g, 7a) in the Kelly Cup Playoffs. Marietti played two more seasons with South Carolina following the 2001 Kelly Cup Championship, and was inducted into the Stingrays Hall of Fame in 2004 and the ECHL Hall of Fame in 2022. His number 24 has been retired by the Stingrays.
A native of Danvers, MA, Damian Prescott spent three seasons with South Carolina, finishing his career with the Kelly Cup in 2001. A product of Brown University, Prescott had 34 points (15g, 19a) in the regular season that year before striking for 12 points (7g, 5a) in the postseason, helping lift the Stingrays to the Kelly Cup. Prescott joined the club in the 1998-99 season, and had 102 points (51g, 51a) in his Stingrays career.
Like Prescott, Greg Schmidt joined the Stingrays in the 1998-99 season, spending three years with the club, posting 51 points (25g, 26a) in the 2000-01 season. In the Kelly Cup Playoffs, Schmidt was a point-per game player with 18 points (9g, 9a) in 18 games. Schmidt also had 36 penalty minutes in those playoffs. After the 2001 season, Schmidt played two more seasons in North America in the WCHL in 2001-02 and for the Pee Dee Pride in 2002-03 before playing seven seasons in Germany until 2010.
David Seitz was named the Most Valuable Player of the 2001 Kelly Cup Playoffs with 13 goals and 15 assists in the postseason. A member of both the 1997 and 2001 Kelly Cup Championship teams, Seitz is the franchise’s leader in goals (217), assists (370) and points (587) after spending eight seasons with the Stingrays from 1996 until 2004. Seitz had 57 points (14g, 43a) in the 2000-01 regular season and played three more years for South Carolina following the 2001 Kelly Cup. South Carolina has retired Seitz’s number 14, and he was inducted into the ECHL Hall of Fame in 2012.
Hailing from Fredericton, New Brunswick, Chris Wheaton played four seasons with South Carolina from 1998 until 2002, playing in 239 games with the Stingrays across his career, logging 39 points (28g, 11a) and 545 penalty minutes. Wheaton had the second most penalty minutes in the 2000-01 season with 180 and was a physical force his whole career, eclipsing 100 penalty minutes in all four seasons with the club.
The Stingrays are excited to welcome back these members of the 2001 Kelly Cup Championship team on Rock the Retro Night, presented by IBEW Local 776, on April 4. The Stingrays will be wearing specialty jerseys that evening against the Greenville Swamp Rabbits inspired by the 2001 team. Tickets are available on Ticketmaster.com and at the North Charleston Coliseum box office.