The South Division produced what may have been a surprising result this year, with the defending Kelly Cup champions, the Florida Everblades, only able to secure a No. 4 seed this time around in a mostly top-heavy division.

It was the South Carolina Stingrays who edged out the Jacksonville Icemen for home-ice advantage in the first two rounds, putting together a consistent regular season that gives them a big edge in what still will be a very difficult task in facing the ‘Blades.

No. 1 South Carolina Stingrays (45-22-5) Vs. No. 4 Florida Everblades (38-25-9)

Game 1 – Saturday, April 22 at 6:05 p.m. ET at South Carolina
Game 2 – Monday, April 24 at 7:05 p.m. ET at South Carolina
Game 3 – Wednesday, April 26 at 7:30 p.m. ET at Florida
Game 4 – Friday, April 28 at 7:30 p.m. ET at Florida
Game 5 – Saturday, April 29 at 7 p.m. ET at Florida (if necessary)
Game 6 – Monday, May 1 at 7:05 p.m. ET at South Carolina (if necessary)
Game 7 – Wednesday, May 3 at 7:05 p.m. ET at South Carolina (if necessary)

Quick Look: The Stingrays and Everblades faced each other 10 times during the regular season, with Florida having taken the first six of those games, before things slightly evened out to a 7-3 record in favor of the ‘Blades.

However, South Carolina took the last two of those games on April 7-8, with what their roster mostly likely will look like heading into the playoffs, getting back-to-back wins from their strong goaltending tandem of Clay Stevenson and Tyler Wall.

The situation in net for Florida is a lot simpler, with Cam Johnson back as their playoff workhorse, after filling a similar role en route to helping them win the Cup.

Player to Watch: South Carolina, Bear Hughes – One of the league’s top rookies this year, Washington’s fifth-round pick in 2020 dazzled with a 23-36-59 line in 66 regular season games in his first pro campaign with the ‘Rays.

A dynamic scorer who previously starred for the WHL’s Spokane Chiefs, the 21-year-old has the skill to potentially take over some of these first-round games.

Player to Watch: Florida, John McCarron – McCarron sat out the majority of the regular season after serving as the team captain on the Kelly Cup-winning team, and he didn’t produce at his usual rate upon returning, potting just one goal and eight assists in 18 regular season games.

But he was nearly a point-per-game player in last year’s playoffs and could take on a bigger role the deeper Florida goes.

No. 2 Jacksonville Icemen (44-23-5) Vs. No. 3 Greenville Swamp Rabbits (40-23-9)

Game 1 – Friday, April 21 at 7 p.m. ET at Jacksonville
Game 2 – Sunday, April 23 at 5 p.m. ET at Jacksonville
Game 3 – Tuesday, April 25 at 7:05 p.m. ET at Greenville
Game 4 – Friday, April 28 at 7:05 p.m. ET at Greenville
Game 5 – Saturday, April 29 at 7:05 p.m. ET at Greenville (if necessary)
Game 6 – Tuesday, May 2 at 7 p.m. ET at Jacksonville (if necessary)
Game 7 – Wednesday, May 3 at 7 p.m. ET at Jacksonville (if necessary)

Quick Look: Similar to the No. 1 vs. No. 4 series, Jacksonville and Greenville also saw plenty of each other during the regular season, squaring off 11 times.

The Icemen held a 6-5 advantage and likely are the favorites in this one, as well, regardless of seeding.

After a slightly sluggish start to the year, Jacksonville got over .500 on Nov. 18 and never looked back, holding a playoff spot for the majority of the year.

Similarly for Greenville, the Swamp Rabbits also had a slow first few months to their season but used a season-high-tying four-game winning streak from Nov. 23-Dec. 2, including a win over Jacksonville during that span, that separated them from the pack.

A beautiful Parker Gahagen save, 7:45 left in the first

JAX 0 | GRN 1 pic.twitter.com/m9yKWz3U4h

— Jacksonville Icemen (@JaxIcemen) March 18, 2023

Player to Watch: Jacksonville, Parker Gahagen – This would seem like a time to shine for Gahagen, who was mostly relegated to backing up Johnson with Florida during last year’s postseason, to get a run of playoff games.

While he’s potentially sharing the net with Charles Williams and Rangers-contracted netminder Olof Lindbom, it was Lindbom and Gahagen who were the tandem who dressed over the final weekend of the season.

Player to Watch: Greenville, Alex Ierullo – Another one of the league’s top players in his first full professional season, the 25-year-old Bemidji State grad gained valuable experience with the Swamp Rabbits last year, posting four points in six Kelly Cup Playoffs games after his college season had ended.

His 87-point regular season this year was good for a tie for third-best in the league overall and tied for best in the Eastern Conference, alongside Newfoundland’s Zach O’Brien.