Tyler Kopff scored the game-winning goal in overtime to give the South Carolina Stingrays a thrilling 4-3 victory over the Greenville Swamp Rabbits on Oct. 17 in the home opener.

In front of a crowd of 6,828 at the North Charleston Coliseum, the Stingrays got a pair of goals from Alex Dostie, while goalkeeper Ben Kraws stopped 25 of 28 shots in his debut with South Carolina.

“We were on our heels a little bit, but I think that's what good teams do,” first-year Stingrays coach Jesse Kallechy said. “Good teams find a way to win.”

The Stingrays (2-0-0) went on their first power play of the game midway through the first period when Tyler Weiss beat Greenville netminder Mattias Sholl glove-side for the game’s first goal.

Later in the period, the Stingrays’ forecheck turned into offense as Dostie finished a feed from Jérémie Biakabutuka to extend the lead to two with 4:49 remaining in the first period.

In the final minutes of the opening frame, a turnover in the defensive zone by South Carolina gave a point-blank look to Greenville’s Blake Bennett, who scored to cut the lead in half heading into the second period.

South Carolina had a breakaway opportunity early in the middle frame but was turned away by Sholl. One minute later, the Stingrays broke through again with Dostie finishing a give-and-go on the rush for his second of the game to go up 3-1.

Midway through the period, the Swamp Rabbits responded with a one-timer by Brendan Gorman that got past Kraws to make it a one-goal game with 9:15 remaining in the second period.

Greenville had a slew of chances to equalize in the third period, but it wasn’t until the final four minutes that Neil Shea ripped the tying goal past Kraws, sending the game into overtime.

The Stingrays dominated possession in overtime, stealing the offensive momentum from the Swamp Rabbits. Kopff earned the role as hero, with his netfront finish ending the sudden death overtime.