GREENVILLE, S.C. — The Greenville Swamp Rabbits hosted the Norfolk Admirals at Bon Secours Wellness Arena on New Year’s Eve, where the team held post-game fireworks and wore specialty “Hopville” sweaters. Unfortunately for fans, teams, and members of the media, the game was delayed by over an hour due to a power outage, which pushed the puck drop time to 7:35 p.m.
Regardless, 6,771 fans showed up, and the teams put on a good show for them. Here is what went down during the three periods of hockey:
Period 1
Tyson Fawcett opened the scoring just a minute into the first period from a clean side, center slot with no protection for Domenic DiVincentiis. Ten minutes later, the Swamp Rabbits drew a power play and put in the work.
Arvid Caderoth tipped the puck in from a rebound from Patrick Moynihan, making it 2-0 for Greenville on the power play and scoring his first ECHL professional career goal.
Seventeen minutes into the first, Norfolk capitalized on intense Greenville zone pressure and scored, cutting the Rabbits’ lead to one. Josh McDougall shot it past Jacob Ingham, short side, near the crease.
After 20 minutes, Greenville led 2-1 going into the second period.
First Period Shots on Goal:
Norfolk: 12
Greenville: 18
Period 2
The second period was dominated by the Admirals as the team saw good looks on net, with the Swamp Rabbits giving up the momentum they had in the first. Sean Montgomery tied it up at 2:38 with a wrister from the far right-wing point.
Then Pavel Padakin broke the tie unassisted, giving Norfolk the lead for the first time in the game after a successful forecheck. But the Admirals weren’t done scoring yet, as Montgomery netted his second of the night, handing his team a two-goal insurance lead.
The unanswered goals ignited fury among the Swamp Rabbits. After a big check on Austin Saint by an Admiral, Jake Flynn dropped the mitts with Connor Fedorek. After 40 minutes, the Admirals led 4-2 going into the third period.
Second Period Shots on Goal:
Greenville: 10
Norfolk: 16
Period 3
The Admirals went on a scoring streak during the final stretch, stopping the Swamp Rabbits’ chance to score and force overtime. Filip Fornåå Svensson made it 5-2 in the first 20 seconds.
Then, minutes later, off a faceoff win in Greenville’s zone, the Admirals applied pressure in Ingham’s crease, as Denis Smirnov punched goal number six on the board from a close-to-crease saucer by Brady Fleurent. Make that six unanswered goals for the Admirals.
But the scoring was still far from over, as the Admirals drew a power play and scored, with Justin Young netting a goal, making it 7-2. The Swamp Rabbits were simply drained by a lack of forechecking, help for Ingham, and a lack of quality scoring chances.
Austin Saint broke the ice with five minutes to play as he ripped a snapshot from the far-side, left-wing end, making the Rabbits trail by four goals. The Admirals held their ground, but the Swamp Rabbits had more breakouts after Saint’s goal than they had during the majority of the third period.
However, with less than three minutes to go in the period, Greenville was sent to its third straight penalty kill. Fornåå Svensson sealed the deal with goal number eight on the power play, bringing big smiles to the Admirals’ bench and frowns to Greenville’s.
After sixty minutes of hockey, the Admirals took this New Year’s Eve game 8-3 against the Swamp Rabbits, as the club put up 45 shots on Ingham; Greenville had 49 shots on DiVincentiis.
Third Period Shots on Goal:
Norfolk: 17
Greenville: 21
Three Stars of The Game
- Filip Fornåå Svensson (2G-1A)
- Sean Montgomery (2G)
- Josh McDougall (1G-2A)
The Swamp Rabbits will hit the road to Florida as they begin the 2025 year against the Orlando Solar Bears on Jan. 3. Meanwhile, the Admirals will return to Norfolk on that date to face the red-hot Wheeling Nailers.
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