Greenville, SC—The Swamp Rabbits returned home for their 3rd consecutive game against division rivals the Florida Everblades on Sunday, November 12, 2023. Previously, the Swamp Rabbits won the last two consecutive games at Bon Secours Arena against Florida, maintaining that win streak at home and displaying a clear rivalry. With the game on Sunday, the Everblades were bound to spice things up and potentially win to close off their road trip in Greenville.
1st Period
The 1st Period started out slow for both teams, as they traded back and forth offensive zone pressure and kept turning the puck over every couple of seconds. However, nearly three minutes into the Period, Greenville stepped up their game and sent full force on Cam Johnson’s net, having all shots on goal until the five-minute mark. But at 4:59, Carter Souch would go to the box for tripping, and thus be Florida’s turn for offense. Everblades had the most momentum as the Rabbits gave them plenty of chances to open up scoring. And they did after several tries. Everblades’ Cesana would pass the puck to Tsekos for him to shoot a wrister at the left-wing end that would sneak past Ingham and open up the scoring. However, the single-goal lead would end several minutes after the Everblades goal, as a bad pass by an Everblades player would result in a turnover for Brett Kemp to intercept the puck and create a breakaway against Cam Johnson. Kemp, without any struggle, slid the puck right past Johnson and ushered in a tie by one at 9:41.
2nd Period
Starting off with the 2nd, the Everblades and Rabbits traded off offensive zone pressure, as both teams had great defense to keep a hold of the tie score. Later into the Period, however, the Everblades defensive unit was on par to keep the score at a tie. With their on point defense, so was their offense; however, the Rabbits’ defensive unit, too, was performing on top. Even with the Rabbits having the same defensive lineup, they kept up, preventing the Everblades from scoring high-pressure goals and backchecked as if they didn’t play the game previously. Then, at 14:28, the Everblades went on the PK, and the Rabbits wasted no time in breaking that 2-2 tie, as Ben Freeman scored a close-to-crease goal while Johnson was under heavy pressure. After the goal by Freeman, the goal insurance was there, and the pressure didn’t cease. Then, with less than 2 minutes left in the 2nd, the Rabbits go on another PP. And so they added intense pressure and shots on the Everblades and Johnson, but couldn’t capitalize on it, as the buzzer rang for the expiration of the 2nd Period.
3rd Period
The 3rd would start out sluggish for the Rabbits… Despite having a few seconds left of PP time, the Everblades PK unit neutralized any scoring chances for the Rabbits, and after three minutes, the game would be all Florida, as they intensified shooting on Greenvilles zone and goaltender Ingham. At 13:07, the Everblades scored from an excellent faceoff win to tie up the game at three from a goal by Lambdin. And more would follow, as well… At around 12:28, a poor backcheck by the Rabbits’ would orchestrate a tie-breaking goal for the Everblades by Cesana. And henceforth, Florida would hold an advantage over Greenville, as they controlled the momentum and general urgency to win; Greenville had no urgency to score after the 2nd Florida goal, and it would cost them even more… A poor attempt to clear the puck from their zone by Greenville allowed the Everblades to make a straight pass to Carpenter for him to fire a wrister that would fly past Ingham and make it 5-3. After the goal by Carpenter, the Rabbits activated retaliation mode, as they attempted to score by pressuring Johnson with hard-driven shots. But it wouldn’t work, as Johnson had his eyes peeled and managed to damn any attempt to score by Greenville, patiently and thoroughly retaining the 5-3 lead. At around three minutes left in the 3rd, Ingham would get pulled by Coach Lord to bring upon the six-on-five advantage, and that’s when Greenville’s urgency and seriousness amplified. At 18:06, J.D. Greenway fed a pass to Anthony Beauchamp for him to score. It was now 4-5 Greenville with less than two minutes left in the 3rd. At 18:43, Florida’s Zach Tsekos would get called for delay of game for tossing the puck out of the ice, and thus giving the Rabbits a last-minute opportunity to tie things up. For the remainder of regulation, Greenville battled hard, winning the necessary faceoffs, making responsive passes, and shooting hard shots on Johnson. However, their home-ice win streak would conclude with their first loss against Florida. Despite the unfortunate loss, Greenville won six consecutive games on home turf, three of which were against their past playoff rivals.
Now it’s time for the Bits to hit the road for their two-week road trip, as they start on November 14th in Atlanta against the Gladiators. The Gladiators have been red hot, as they’re 1st in the south and can’t seem to lose. It’s uncertain if the lineup will change or remain the same from last night for the Rabbits, but one thing is for certain: defense has to get some rest if they are to win against Atlanta.
