It was a high-stakes night in the ECHL’s South Division on Friday, March 21, as playoff races tightened and rivalries came to life. The South Carolina Stingrays kept pace at the top of the division with a commanding home win over the Greenville Swamp Rabbits, while the Florida Everblades edged the Savannah Ghost Pirates in a physical, come-from-behind victory. With both teams already clinched and battling for playoff seeding, tensions are rising across the division. Elsewhere, Savannah missed a key opportunity to gain ground on Atlanta, though the Gladiators remain in the hunt a stronger points percentage.
Greenville Swamp Rabbits at South Carolina Stingrays
First Period
South Carolina came out flying, opening the scoring at 3:22 when Charlie Combs tallied his 20th of the season on a feed from Josh Wilkins and Dean Loukus. The Stingrays doubled the lead at 16:38 as Micah Miller buried his 20th after clean setups from Combs and goaltender Seth Eisele, who earned a rare assist. Greenville was limited to six shots in the period and couldn’t find any rhythm, spending most of the frame pinned in their own zone.
Second Period
South Carolina extended its lead to 3-0 early in the second. At 5:51, Dean Loukus scored his second goal of the season, finishing a play started by Erik Middendorf and Jacob Graves.
Greenville responded at 16:23 when Carter Savoie notched his 20th, with Conner Hutchison and Tate Singleton earning assists.
The only penalties of the game came just 13 seconds into the period when Greenville’s John Parker-Jones and South Carolina’s Justin Nachbaur dropped the gloves. Both received five-minute fighting majors, energizing the crowd and momentarily sparking some pushback from the Swamp Rabbits, who outshot South Carolina 17–18 in the frame but still couldn’t shift momentum.
Third Period
With Greenville trying to claw back into the game, South Carolina was setting up to put things away. The Stingrays eventually sealed the win with two goals in the final two minutes. With the Greenville net empty, Micah Miller scored his second of the game at 18:14, assisted by Justin Nachbaur and Connor Moore.
Just 32 seconds later, Tyler Weiss added the fifth and final goal for South Carolina on a feed from Austin Magera.
Greenville mustered eight shots in the third but couldn’t beat Eisele again, while South Carolina added nine more for a game total of 37.
Goaltending and Final Notes
Seth Eisele was steady all night for the Stingrays, stopping 30 of 31 shots and recording an assist. Pierce Charleson stopped 32 of 36 for Greenville in the loss. The only penalties in the game were the second-period fight majors, which had minimal impact on the scoreboard but energized the building. South Carolina improved to 44-14-3-2, maintaining their league-best point percentage, while Greenville dropped to 23-32-6-2.
Three Stars of the Game
The First Star of the game was goaltender Seth Eisele, who turned aside 30 shots and added an assist. Second Star honors went to Dean Loukus with a goal and an assist, while Micah Miller earned the Third Star after scoring twice, including the empty-netter.
Florida Everblades at Savannah Ghost Pirates
First Period
Savannah exploded out of the gate, scoring twice in the opening two minutes. Defenseman Hakon Nilsen made it 1-0 just 18 seconds in on a wrist shot through traffic, assisted by Patrick Guay and Devon Paliani. At 2:04, Mackenzie Dwyer extended the lead to 2-0 after receiving a drop pass from Logan Drevitch and walking into the slot for his first of the season.
Florida responded at 5:47 when Carson Gicewicz scored his 26th of the year, burying a rebound with help from Jordan Sambrook and Colin Theisen.
Midway through the period, things got physical. At 8:32, four players were penalized after a post-whistle scrum. Florida’s Sean Allen and Andrew Fyten, along with Savannah’s Josh Davies and Logan Drevitch, were all assessed roughing minors. The 4-on-4 play did not lead to scoring but briefly opened the ice. Florida’s Logan Lambdin was later called for high-sticking at 15:40, giving Savannah a power play that failed to generate a quality chance.
Second Period
Florida tied the game 2-2 just 2:37 into the second when Alex Kile rifled a shot from the slot for his 15th goal, assisted by defenseman Kurtis Henry.
Florida defenseman Cole Moberg received a minor for roughing at 13:02, but Savannah’s power play once again came up empty. Florida’s penalty kill was aggressive and never allowed Savannah to set up in the zone. The Everblades later took the lead at 15:50 with a power-play goal by Gicewicz—his second of the game and 27th of the season—after a crisp setup from Kile and Tarun Fizer. The chance came after Savannah’s Josh Davies was penalized for hooking at 15:30.
Florida dominated the second period, outshooting Savannah 6–0 and completely controlling possession.
Third Period
Florida shut things down defensively in the final twenty minutes. Savannah’s Keaton Pehrson was called for holding at 13:31, but Florida could not convert on the power play. Still, the Everblades outshot Savannah 16–3 in the third and allowed almost nothing at even strength. Cam Johnson stopped every shot in the period, and the Everblades held on for the 3-2 victory.
Goaltending and Final Notes
Cam Johnson finished the game with 11 saves on 13 shots to earn the win. Evan Cormier stopped 30 of 33 in a strong effort for Savannah. Florida outshot the Ghost Pirates 33–13, including a shutout second period and a dominant third. Penalties were a factor in the flow of the game, as Florida capitalized on one of their two power plays while Savannah went 0-for-2.
With the win, Florida improved to 43-13-7-1 and retained sole possession of first place in the South with 94 points. Savannah remained in fifth with 59 points and missed an opportunity to leapfrog Atlanta in the standings.
Three Stars of the Game
The First Star went to Carson Gicewicz for his two-goal performance, including the game-winner. Savannah defenseman Mackenzie Dwyer earned the Second Star for his early goal and physical presence. Third Star honors went to Alex Kile, who finished with a goal and an assist in the comeback win.
Upcoming South Division Action
It’s a pivotal weekend in the South Division. The spotlight falls tonight on Jacksonville, where the Icemen host the second-place South Carolina Stingrays for back-to-back games that could have major implications throughout the division.
Saturday, March 22: Clash of Contenders in Jacksonville
South Carolina Stingrays at Jacksonville Icemen – 7:00 PM EDT
Note: Florida, Atlanta, Orlando, Savannah, and Greenville are all idle tonight.
South Carolina comes in riding a nine-game winning streak and sits just one point back of Florida for first place, with a higher points percentage. A win tonight would move them back into the top spot in the South Division. Jacksonville, currently third, is looking to gain ground and prove they can go toe-to-toe with one of the division’s best heading into the final stretch. This is the last regular season series matchup between these two teams, and could set the stage for both as they head into the playoffs.
With tight races at the top and bottom, the standings are anything but settled — and tonight’s result could shift the balance heading into Sunday.
Discover more from Inside The Rink
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
