Greenville, SC—The Swamp Rabbits and Solar Bears returned to Greenville for the last slated games of the South Division Semi-finals. This time, it was game six, as the Bears led the series 3-2 over the Rabbits, making this game a do-or-die situation for the Rabbits.
1st Period
Greenville was aggressive throughout this period. When it came to putting pucks on net or being physical to the opposing team, the Rabbits did it. They would draw the first penalty of the game, as J.D. Greenway would get tripped up on the near breakaway. The Rabbits would put pressure on the Orlando PK units, but Fitzpatrick and the core would make needed blocks and clears to keep it a zero score game. Towards the end of the period, the Bears would see close chance on net, as the Rabbits struggled to clear out the puck from their zone. Shots on goal: 7 Orlando, 16 Greenville
2nd Period
The Solar Bears would open up scoring at 14:04 from Jaydon Dureau on the power play. Now down by a goal, the Rabbits weren’t having it as Anthony Beauchamp would drop the mitts and KO Luke Boka, along with Greenway and Jesse Jacques going at it with roughing extremities.
After the altercations, the Rabbits would burst into the o-zone to fire whatever they had in the tank. However, nothing would go in: the Bears were at the right place at the right time with their positioning. In turn, that would carry on with another goal. At 19:30, Dureau would net number two for his team and game; Ben Carrol would feed a back-door saucer on the right-wing point to Dureau for him to hard wrist it at an open net. Shots on goal: 7 Orlando, 12 Greenville.
3rd Period
Tanner Eberle would take a penalty in the first 22 seconds of play. Down by two, the Rabbits would kill off this penalty with desperation. However, the successful kill with no shots on goal wouldn’t matter. At 3:28, Spencer Kersten would net number six to his playoff record and make it three-o.
Kersten would turn on the jets by rushing down to Greenvilles zone on the left-wing end, and then would maneuver through the crease and chip it past Ingham while bulldozing over and knocking him down. The goal would go under review by the Referees Trevor Wohlford and Tyler Hascall to see if there was goaltender interference prior to the goal. However, the bulldozing occured after the goal, as Kersten was bolting down the ice at a fast speed to enact a stop. After the goal, the Rabbits had to step up their game if they wanted to advance to game seven. And they did. They would shoot seven shots on Fitzpatrick before drawing a needed power play at 9:35. The power play wouldn’t go far, though, as the team would only shoot just a shot on the netminder; the Bears made needed clears and even pressured in the Rabbits zone. Defensive game was the Bears’ top attribute, and was that way throughout the entire series. Then at 15:10, Andrew Lord would pull Jacob Ingham for the extra attacker as his team were in the o-zone upon an Orlando icing. After the faceoff win, the Rabbits would control with the six man advantage, and 23 seconds in, Colton Young would score from Josh McKechney’s assist. The crowd at Bon Secours Wellness Arena were hyped up after that goal as their team would only trail by two goals. Seconds after the goal, Ingham would get pulled again. But the second attempt would get shadowed by the Bears as they would deny any attempt from it and further score on it. Aaron Luchuk would fire it down to the empty net from his zone and score on it. At this point, with less than four minutes left and trailing by three goals, the Rabbits had little to no time to muster a tie. Even with a power play later on at 16:42, the team couldn’t capitlise on it despite placing fierce pressure on goal and managing control of the zone well.
The Rabbits had pulled Ingham for the third and final time while on and off the PP, but nothing came from it. The effort was there, it was seen, but it wouldn’t pay off. Tyler Bird would rip it from his zone to score the empty netter. And that would be it for both teams. Upon the buzzer, it would be it for the Swamp Rabbits. After putting up 47 shots on goal, the Rabbits came out with one goal; for 21 shots, the Bears scored five goals. The players, coaches and bench staff came onto the ice to engage in the respectful handshake line, expressing their farewells and congratulations.
Too many opportunities were simply not there for the Rabbits. Pucks weren’t going in even with the greatest of plays and shots. All around, the team played great offensively, but the defense lacked discipline and proper zone management to keep out fortified plays by the opposing team. Even seeding a south division title at the end of the regular season, the Rabbits closed with another first round exit of the Kelly Cup Playoffs.
The Solar Bears had the wall of support from Evan Fitzpatrick and his fellow players; everyone wearing a sweater stepped up and did their part: whether it was to score, block shots, checking, or simple defense, the Bears did it and did it right when they needed it. With that, the Solar Bears advance to round two of the division finals – either against Florida or Jacksonville. The battle of Florida awaits again…
