Greenville, SC—After a few days of rest, the Swamp Rabbits would start out the new year of 2024 with a two game homestand. The first game started on Friday, January 5, against the South Carolina Stingrays, and the second game was on Saturday, January 6, against the Florida Everblades.
Game One—Stingrays VS. Swamp Rabbits
1st Period
The first period would start out in South Carolina’s favor, as they would get a power play at 1:07 and post five shots on Bednard. For the majority of the period, South Carolina would control the offensive momentum, as they would post 12 Shots on Bednard, while the Rabbits’ posted only four on Bjorklund. Despite the defential in shots, however, it was scoreless until the 19:00 mark. Ryan Bednard would make some incredible saves during this time, really displaying why he’s an ECHL All-Star. The Stingrays’ defensive unit made good saves and recoveries to maintain the 0-0 score. However, they would take a penalty and send the Rabbits to the power play at 17:33. The Rabbits’ would put in hard work in SC’s zone and eventually score at 18:59 from a goal by Josh McKechney. After twenty minutes, the Rabbits would lead by a goal.
2nd Period
Starting off the 2nd period, the Rabbits’ would go on the power play again at 0:44, as Jackson Leppard went to the sin bin for tripping. Greenville would post two shots on Bjorklund before gaining some insurance. At 2:49, Jake Smith would take a one-timer at Bjorklund from a pass by Ethan Cap and score. Jake Smith, once again, proves he’s a great one-timer scorer. But after Smiths goal, Nikita Pavlychev would get called to the sin bin and give the other team a power play. The Stingrays’ power play unit as of late, hasn’t been successful, as they have an 18.4% success percentage. However, this game would be an exception, as Josh Wilkins would net his fourteenth goal of the season and give his team a bit of breathing room with fifteen minutes left of the second stretch. After Wilkins’s goal, the Stingrays had a boost of motivation to score again, as they would receive another power play at 6:27. However, Greenville stepped up and denied the Stingrays’ chance at scoring a tying goal, while the Rays’ posted twelve shots on Bednard before gaining another power play at 14:10. During that segment, the Rabbits’ posted only three shots on Bjorklund. At 17:57, the Rabbits’ went full steam ahead into South Carolina’s zone with J.D. Greenway shooting a shot on Bjorklund. The Swamp Rabbits would keep the in SC’s zone, as Carter Souch would feed a pass to Brannon McManus for him to shoot and score his sixth goal of the season. With much-needed insurance, the Rabbits’ now led 3-1 and would carry on into the third, 20-minute stretch.
3rd Period
The next period would once again start out great for the Stingrays, as they would post four shots on Bednard before scoring at 5:04. Connor Moore would tip the puck in past Bednard from a pass by Josh Wilkins, and thus give his team a one-goal deficit with plenty of minutes of hockey left. With the one-goal deficit, the Rays’ would push on, posting five shots on Bednard before taking a penalty at 11:36. The Stingray’s strong PK unit went full force on Greenvilles power play units, as the Rabbits posted two shots on Bjorklund and simply got played after the man advantage. The Rays were determined to tie things up, as they would pull Garin Bjorklund at 18:46 for the extra attacker and try to muster up something with limited time left. However, Ryan Bednard would deny that ambition, and so Josh McKechney would intercept the puck in the neutral zone and shot at the empty net to get his second goal of the night at 19:36.
In a much-needed win, the Rabbits’ got revenge against the Stingrays and extended their win record to 22. But there was more hockey to be played the following day…
After the game, I caught up with Josh McKechney for an exclusive post-game interview.
McKechney scored two goals during that game against South Carolina. I asked for his thoughts on that.
“I think just playing with good players; I think we have a really well-rounded team, and the team makes really good plays to set me up. So I gotta give them credit; I can’t do it by myself. First one, Souch made a really great play. In the second, got a bit of a lucky bounce, but we’ll take it when we can.”
When Asked what’s going forward ahead of their matchup against Florida.
His response: “It’s gonna be a big game; they’re always hard to play against – they’re gritty like us; they’re a pretty strong, deep, well-rounded team. So we just got to be consistent and out-work them and just really stick to our game plan.”
Against the Stingrays, the Rabbits were outshot in shots on goal for the entirety of the game. I asked McKechney what needs to change with his team before facing Florida.
“I think a lot of it is being better in our defensive zone, kind of killing plays before they have the chance to gain possession and get those shot attempts. Obviously, we need to have a lot more shots and play out of the defensive zone a little bit more. They got a ton of power plays off of stick infractions and stick penalties. So, just stay out of the box and pump more pucks at the net; I think those are the two big ones.”
Game Two—Florida Everblades VS. Swamp Rabbits – January 6 2024
1st Period
The first period was slow, as both teams would respectively trade-off offensive pressure to try and open up the scoring. However, nothing would get past the walls of Luke Richardson and Evan Cormier, who were tending their respective nets. The Swamp Rabbits would be the first to start off with a power play at 6:46. However, that run would be short-lived as Josh McKechney drew a penalty at 7:23 and brought upon 4-on-4 hockey for less than two minutes. During their abbreviated power play and the 4-on-4, the Everblades posted three shots on Richardson, while the Rabbits’ posted two shots on Cormier. The Rabbits’ would later take another penalty at 12:07 but would effectively kill it off and deny the Blades’ from even posting a shot on goal. After their successful PK, the Rabbits’ shifted the momentum to themselves and posted two shots on Cormier before drawing a power play opportunity at 15:39. The Bits’ wasted no time pressuring the Everblades on the power play, as they posted five shots on goal, with some shots being close calls for Florida.
Floridas’ successful PK units managed to kill off the Rabbits’ intensive power play, as after the first stretch, the score would remain at 0.
2nd Period
The first period started with both teams trading shots between both respective zones, as the Everblades posted three shots on Richardson, while the Rabbits’ posted only two on Cormier before drawing a power play at 7:35. In a paralleled fashion, the Swamp Rabbits’ power play would be unsuccessful despite them throwing two shots on Cormier. The momentum towards Greenville would be short-lived, as they would once again draw a penalty at 9:47. However, the Everblades couldn’t capitalise on their man advantage either, as Greenvilles PK unit killed it off with ease. The game was an endless battle of both teams’ defensive units maintaining the 0-0 score. However, with 6:15 left of the second, Kyle Neuber would rush down in Greenvilles end, fire a snapshot on Richardson, and create a rebound chance for Logan Lambdin to tip the puck past Richardson to open up the scoring. The one-goal lead for Florida wouldn’t stand for long, however, as Josh McKechney would net the tying goal at 15:28. The Rabbits’ would press on after McKechney’s goal as they controlled the momentum and flushed the Everblades out of the rest of the period. At 18:22, the Rabbits’ would reign on the Everblades again, as they would get another power play opportunity. A minute into the man advantage, the Rabbits would score again from another goal by Josh McKechney. McKechney has been red-hot lately, scoring two goals in back-to-back games for the Rabbits’. After forty minutes, Greenville would lead by a goal.
3rd Period
The final twenty minutes of hockey started out great for the Everblades, as they would score a power-play goal at 1:05 and tie things up. However, after the tying goal, the remainder of the period would be nothing more than an endless cycle of turnovers and zone-pressure rotations. But the Everblades were the ones that were determined to break the tie and take the game, as they posted eleven shots on Richardson, while the Rabbits’ posted seven. Luke Richardson would come in clutch during the third period and keep the score at 2. Both teams had chances to break the tie, but the goaltenders were not allowing it. Therefore, the game would swing into 3-on-3 overtime.
Overtime
Well, overtime would last for… not even a minute. Florida would win the faceoff, motor down to Greenvilles end, and redirect the puck in the trapezoid. The redirect in the trapezoid would get intercepted by Souch, and he and Coyle would hustle down on a two-on-two. Souch would then maneuver around the left-wing end while being contested by an Everblade, make a pass at an open Max Coyle, and Coyle wasted no time in firing a rocket and scoring the game-winner. Coyle scored his first ECHL goal and the game-winner for the Rabbits’, as his team came bolting with celebration after he scored, with the fans being as loud as they could.
