ECHL Game Recap: Savannah Ghost Pirates at Greenville Swamp Rabbits | 11/13/2024

Julie Taylor/InsideTheRink

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.

insidetherink.com/join-us


Discover more from Inside The Rink

Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.

Jake Farmer

I'm a photographer and writer covering the ECHL Greenville Swamp Rabbits based in Greenville, South Carolina, and writer of Tampa Bay Lightning content. Twitter and Instagram: JakeCF.Hockey

Leave a Reply

ECHL South Division Semifinals – Game 1 Recap: Orlando Solar Bears vs South Carolina Stingrays

Game one of round one in the Kelly Cup Playoffs kicked off the postseason run for the Orlando Solar Bears and the South Carolina Stingrays Friday night in Charleston. The Solar Bears heading into the playoffs are ranked 13th in the league and fourth in the Southern Division. They finished the season with 37-25-10 record, […]

Read More

ECHL North Division Semifinals – Game 1 Recap: Reading Royals vs Trois-Rivieres Lions

The Trois-Rivieres Lions and Reading Royals met for the first game of the North Division Semifinals on Friday Night. The Lions would get on the board first on the PP as Xavier Cormier fed Jakov Novak in front to give Trois-Rivieres a 1-0 lead just over four minutes in. Trois-Rivieres would have six of the […]

Read More

ECHL: Brandon Hawkins Repeats Most Valuable Player for 2024–25 Season

Brandon Hawkins, forward for the Toledo Walleye, has once again earned the league’s highest individual honor, being named the Warrior Hockey ECHL Most Valuable Player for the 2024–25 season. This marks Hawkins’ second consecutive MVP award, placing him in elite company as just the second player in ECHL history to win back-to-back MVP honors, joining […]

Read More