Greenville, SC—It was a breezy’ Sunday evening in Greenville, as the year 2023 was seeing the end before the beginning of 2024, and what better way to spend that evening than at a Swamp Rabbits game? Well, that was sort of the message I was getting after seeing the large turnout of 6658 fans on New Year’s Eve Glow Night, with the Swamp Rabbits wearing specialty glow-in-the-dark jerseys. This game, of all games, was a must-win for the Rabbits, as they closed off their final road trip of 2023 with back-to-back losses against the Everblades.
1st period
The first period would start out good for Greenville, as they would get a power play at 1:35. However, it didn’t go as the Rabbits planned, as they posted a single shot on Johnson. The Everblades’ PK units have been quite successful lately, with a 82% kill percentage. It would seem like the Everblades would control a lot of the momentum after killing off the Greenville power play, but it would reign for a short time. In a short rush, Carter Souch would feed a pass in the right-wing end to Ryan Francis for him to net a top-shelf goal.
photo credit: Jake Farmer
The Rabbits were on the board with a single goal, and it would stay that way heading into the second stretch.
2nd period
(photo credit: Rebecca DaSilva)
Perhaps a fuel of adrenaline rushed through the Rabbits’, as they would waste no time pressuring Johnson as soon as the puck dropped. This would pay off rather quickly for the Rabbits’, as Ben Freeman would net a goal from a wrister and give his team a two-goal insurance lead.
(Photo credit: Jake Farmer)
But perhaps the Freeman goal was a blessing for the Rabbits, as sooner than later, the Blades would find an opportunity to put a goal on the board. After shifting around each zone, the Everblades finally found a swing of momentum and leaped themselves Into Greenvilles zone. Consequently, Everblades Patrick Holway would find an opportunity to shoot at Bednard, create a rebound chance, and score from it. Florida was thus trailing by a goal to tie things up, but their ambition and view would get shadowed by the Rabbits’. After Holway’s goal, the Rabbits’ would control the momentum for several minutes, posting six shots on Johnson until 8:11, compared to the Everblades posting only two. Afterwards, at 8:11, the Rabbits’ would draw a penalty and head to the PK. However, the Rabbits’ would run over the Everblades PP unit and end up scoring at 9:38. A good poke check from McKechney in Greenvilles zone created an opportunity for him to rush down to Florida’s zone and score a short-handed goal at 9:38. Then, seconds after winning the center ice faceoff, the Everblades pressured the Rabbits’ end. A clear, open-door opportunity awaited Everblade Sean Josling for him to one-time the puck on a top-shelf opportunity and score. After 40 minutes, the second stretch would conclude 3-2 Greenville.
(photo credit: Rebecca DaSilva)
3rd period
It was now time for the third and final stretch of the game. The period started out great for the Everblades, as despite going on the PK at 1:54, their strong and successful PK unit would overwork the Rabbits’ power play unit. At 2:23, Bobo Carpenter would net an unassisted goal and usher in a tie.
(Photo credit: Jake Farmer)
But, at 3:27, the Rabbits would go on the PP and test their strength with Nikita Pavlychev’s return. At 3:34, Carter Souch would net a goal and break the tie. Souch, in his last three games played, has scored three goals. After Souch’s goal, the Everblades attempted to tie things up again, posting four shots on Bednard before 13:16, but the Rabbit’s said, “not so fast.” At 13:16, the Rabbits would get another power play. For nearly the whole two minutes, they would try to set something up but would shoot far and wide the net. That was until the last second when Joe Leahy would fire a rocket near the blue line and score to give his team much-needed insurance.
(Photo credit: Jake Farmer)
And indeed, the insurance goal was needed, as the Everblades would end up scoring almost a minute after Leahy’s goal from a short-handed goal by Cam Hausinger. And so, In a desperate attempt to tie the game before the buzzer, the Everblades would pull Cam Johnson. But, the Rabbits’ would deny that endeavor and hence take the game.
In a revenge manner, the Swamp Rabbits stomped the Everblades’ dream of three consecutive wins against them and capped off the year with a bang.
