GREENVILLE, S.C. — The Greenville Swamp Rabbits hosted the Savannah Ghost Pirates for their School Day event on Nov. 13. Before puck drop, the Swamp Rabbits were 3-3-1 for seven games, while the Ghost Pirates were 7-3-0 for ten games and red-hot in the standings.
Jacob Ingham of the Rabbits and Keith Kinkaid of the Ghost Pirates got the nods to tend their respective nets for this game. Ingham recently came off a 3-0 shutout win against Atlanta last weekend.
1st Period
To start off the first 20 minutes, the Ghost Pirates seemed to have solid control over this period, being present in Greenville’s zone for most of the frame. What helped with that was the club receiving three power plays. However, even with the extra-man advantages, the Swamp Rabbits made great defensive plays in their own end to keep the visiting team from scoring. Then, at 11:58, the tide turned in Greenville’s favor as Bryce Brodzinski netted his third goal of the season from an open-net opportunity given by Kinkaid. Trailing by a goal, the Ghost Pirates would head into the second frame without scoring a goal.
Shots on goal: Savannah 16; 7 Greenville
2nd Period
For the second period, the Swamp Rabbits would extend their lead by two goals in the first two minutes of play when Ben Freeman wristed one at the center slot to make it 2-0. With the goal, Freeman, the club’s captain, recorded his 100th career point in five ECHL seasons, with 38 goals and 62 assists.
Later on, the Ghost Pirates pressured heavily in the Rabbits’ zone and executed accordingly to keep the plays in the offensive zone. As a result, the team would find a way to score when Devon Paliani scored on the backhander to give his team some breathing room.
Shots on goal: Savannah 10; Greenville 12
3rd Period
The Swamp Rabbits would go all out in this period to close out the game. But Savannah started the final frame with intensity and zone pressure, roughing up the Rabbits’ d-core with physicality and forechecking plays. At 5:22, they would draw a power play and score seconds after it expired from Riley Hughes. The game now tied, the Rabbits opened up their game and didn’t look back at the tie, as Tate Singleton would break it at 9:22 from Patrick Moynihan’s primary assist.
Minutes later, the Ghost Pirates were whistled down for a penalty. Without taking their skates off the ice, the Swamp Rabbits saw a golden opportunity to score and secure some insurance. With impressive power play execution and retention in the Ghost Pirates’ end, Carter Savoie would score the insurance goal at 13:32 (4-2 Greenville).
Still, with minutes left in the period, the Ghost Pirates showed no signs of giving up, as at 17:16, Reece Vitelli scored a power-play goal and gave his team some breathing room.
Trailing by a goal, the team pulled Kinkaid for six attackers. However, the extra-man game wouldn’t pay off for the visiting team this time, as the Swamp Rabbits held them off and thereby won. The Swamp Rabbits took this game against the red-hot Ghost Pirates by a score of 4-3 for their School Game event.
Three Stars
1. Carter Savoie (PP goal)
2. Tate Singleton (1G/1A)
3. Ben Freeman (1G for 100 Career Points)
The Swamp Rabbits will be back home this week on Saturday, Nov. 16 and 17, for a two-game match-up against the reigning Kelly Cup Champions, the Florida Everblades. Meanwhile, the Ghost Pirates will continue their road trip to another South Division city, Jacksonville, as they will take on the Icemen on the 16th.
