Its management team included Joseph Scanlon as president/CEO and retired National Hockey League (NHL) player Rick Vaive as head coach.

Dionne was accused of assault in February 1994 by Lynn Bernstein, an ally of Scanlon, over a dispute regarding the removal of advertising signs at the North Charleston Coliseum, but was later acquitted.

[9] In early 1995, along with Charlotte, Greensboro, and Hampton Roads, the team was offered an expansion spot by the American Hockey League (AHL), the intermediate level between the ECHL and the NHL.

Vaive succeeded Dionne as director of hockey operations while retaining his head coaching position, thus giving him more control over personnel decisions.

Following their Kelly Cup victory, ECHL management accused the franchise of circumventing the league's salary cap by colluding with the city of North Charleston to funnel money through a city-run youth hockey program to provide payouts to players.

The Internal Revenue Service determined that no state or federal tax laws were broken, but the incident sparked a re-evaluation by the ECHL of the teams' salary caps.

[27] The team finished at the top of the Southeast Division, but fell in a first round playoff series against their new in-state rival, the Pee Dee Pride.

Vaive reported after the fact that replays indicated that the game-tying goal was invalid but the referee missed the call, resulting in the overtime period and the Stingrays' eventual defeat.

They faced and defeated the Trenton Titans (then captained by future Stingrays head coach Cail MacLean) in five games to win their second Kelly Cup championship.

[42] After failing to qualify for the ECHL playoffs for the only time in franchise history during the 2006–07 season,[43] Fitzsimmons resigned, and was assigned by the Washington Capitals as a scout.

[46] The Stingrays built on this momentum in the 2008–09 season, sweeping Cincinnati 4–0 in the conference finals and winning the Kelly Cup on the road in the culmination of a 4–3 series with the Alaska Aces.

Despite a strong regular season showing that left the Stingrays tied with the South Division (and American Conference) leader Charlotte Checkers and North Division leader Kalamazoo Wings, the team ended up fourth seed in the 2010 Kelly Cup playoffs, falling three games to two in the first round to the eventual champions, the Cincinnati Cyclones.

For a team that was the first in the ECHL to reach 30 wins that season (in a 5–3 victory over the Reading Royals in front of a record sellout crowd of 10,570),[51] the first round defeat was disappointing to players and fans alike.

[54] With the return of forwards Maxime Lacroix and Pierre-Luc O'Brien—both of whom played a vital role in the 2009 Kelly Cup championship—the team looked to build momentum towards a fourth championship.

[55] However, injuries, call-ups, and ultimately inconsistent play on the ice resulted in another disappointing first round playoff loss, this time to the Wheeling Nailers.

[57] Friends, family members and former teammates from the Stingrays, the Hershey Bears, Culver Military Academy and the University of Wisconsin (Daubenspeck's alma maters) banded together to raise money to help defray the extensive medical bills.

[58] In April 2011, current and former Stingrays donned their skates and took to the ice for the team's first ever alumni game, held to benefit the Daubenspeck family.

The event (held at the Carolina Ice Palace) drew a capacity crowd of over 700 and raised over $20,000 in ticket sales and from a post-game jersey auction.

[65] Spencer Carbery announced on September 4, 2013, that the team has agreed to terms with rookie forward Tory Allan and first-year defenseman Tom Janosz.

After dispatching the Florida Everblades in six games in the second round, the Stingrays faced the regular season champion Toledo Walleye in the Eastern Conference Finals.

Toledo was on the verge of becoming the sixth team in the history of North American sports to come back from an 0–3 deficit to win a playoff series, but South Carolina won the seventh game in the third overtime period to advance to the Kelly Cup Finals.

However, they lost the seventh game of the series to the Americans, who subsequently won their first championship title since coming from the Central Hockey League before the 2014–15 season.

[78][79][80] Cool Ray also provides entertainment and comic relief on ice and in the stands during games, and serves as the Stingrays' Kids Club mascot.

Andrew Miller currently reports on the Stingrays and also authors a blog entitled "Rays the Roof," where he provides opinion pieces on the team's performance and transactions.

The Stingrays maintain a strong online presence, utilizing social media outlets such as Facebook and Twitter to engage with fans.

Player involvement includes celebrity bartender events to raise donations for charity, autographed equipment auctions, and visiting and playing with hospitalized children.

[83] The crowning event of the Stingrays season is the annual "Pink in the Rink" night, supporting Susan G. Komen for the Cure and the fight against breast cancer.

Proceeds from ticket sales, vendor tables, and live and silent auctions featuring sports memorabilia including the actual game-used hockey sticks and jerseys were presented to the Lowcountry chapter of Susan G. Komen for the Cure.

Past awardees include Spencer Carbery (2008–09), Matt Scherer (2009–10), Jordan Pietrus (2010–11), Johann Kroll (2011–12), and Scooter Vaughan (2012–13).

[53] Many former Stingrays have played in the National Hockey League (NHL), and at least four, Rich Peverley, Braden Holtby, Philipp Grubauer, and Pheonix Copley have won the Stanley Cup.