Greenville, SC—The Swamp Rabbits returned home for two games on Friday and Saturday, facing off against the Atlanta Gladiators and South Carolina Stingrays. Greenville returned home after concluding their long seven-game road trip that lasted for two weeks, as they won all seven games, and gained the top of the ECHL and south division in points. They would once again face off against their division rivals—only this time at home.
First Period
The first period started strong for Greenville for four minutes, as they shot six times on Gladiator’s netminder Gustavs Grigals. At the four-minute mark, it was the Gladiator’s turn to shoot on Rabbits’ goalie Jacob Ingham; they put up just four shots before getting penalized at 8:46, while the Rabbits’ squeezed two shots. For the majority of that power play time, however, there was not much action, as the Gladiators were the first to shoot. But before the PP time expired and rendered even strength, Max Martin would fire a rocket of a one-timer from a pass by McManus. Grigals left the net wide open for Martin to open up scoring for the Rabbits’.
Wait, there’s more… Just over thirty seconds after Martin’s goal, at 11:08, the Rabbits would apply more pressure on Grigals as the puck was scrambling around the crease; Beauchamp wasted no time, however, in slipping the puck past Grigals to give his team a two-goal lead. The momentum didn’t stop there for the Rabbits, as J.D. Greenway knocked the puck into the net in a close-to-crease execution at 11:47.
Letting in three goals in a matter of two minutes, Grigals’s day was over as Harmon took the mantle. The momentum shifted for the Gladiators once they received a two-man advantage at 15:34, however, as Joe Leahy and Tanner Eberle got called for delay of the game. This would cost the Rabbits, as Jackson Pierson would open up scoring for the Gladiators at 15:48. After the goal, the Gladiators would find a spark of offense, pressuring Greenville for the remainder of the first period. However, the first period would conclude 3-1 Greenville.
2nd Period
The second period would start well for Atlanta, as they shot six times on Ingham for the first four minutes. At 5:45, Carter Souch would net a goal while getting tripped up by a Gladiator to make the score 4-1. Retaining that three-goal lead, the Rabbits’ would later go on a power play at 9:00 and put the work in their PP units that had been electric for the last ten games. A paralleled effect: it wouldn’t be until the final second that Greenville would manage to converge on the PP, as Ethan Somoza would one time a beauty past Harmon from an assist by Souch at 10:56. After the power play goal by Somoza, both teams would trade off offensive pressure in their respective opponent zones. Miraculously, Atlanta would find a way to sneak a goal past Ingham at 19:59 before the horn rang. The goal shook a few heads, except for the referee.
3rd Period
For the final twenty minutes, the Rabbits’ would get a power play at 3:47 and throw three shots during the full two minutes. After the powerplay, though, they would continue to pressure Harmon and the Gladiators defense for several more minutes. A turnaround would result in a momentum shift for the Gladiators, as they would pressure Ingham and a tired Swamp Rabbits defense. The tired legs from the Rabbits would cost them a goal, as Ingham was overwhelmed while his teammates were not effectively covering him. At 8:11, Zach Yoder would slapshot a goal to make it 3-5. After that goal, however, not much action would be seen, as both teams flipped-flopped between zones, firing the puck high and wide. At the 16:00 minute mark, Pavlychev and Souch would shoot quality shots on Harmon, before eventually taking a penalty at 16:58, as Pavlychev got called for cross-checking. With the powerplay in effect for Atlanta, the coaching staff decided to pull Harmon to give their team a 6-on-4 advantage. The Gladiators would tighten the offense on Greenvilles’ PK unit upon the start of their empty-net power play, as Carson Gicewicz shot on Ingham three seconds after the puck drop. Shortly after, the Rabbit’s PK unit tore through Atlanta’s extra men unit, completely neutralizing any further attempts. Upon getting out of the penalty box, avoiding an interference penalty, Nikita Pavlychev intercepted the puck just two meters from the box and fired it at Atlanta’s empty net to give him an empty netter goal with just a minute left of play.
Thanks to Pavlychev’s empty-net goal, the Rabbits would hold a three-goal lead and be able to secure their eighth consecutive win.
2nd Game Against South Carolina Stingrays
1st Period
It was now time for some teddies to fly down on the ice. For the first period, the Rabbits wasted no time in making the rain of teddies possible, as intense pressure on Bjorkland would give Anthony Beauchamp a space to knock the puck in and allow fans to throw thousands of stuffed animals on the ice. Thousands of teddies? Hard to count while on the ice, but there was enough to delay the game for ten minutes. Last season, Greenville had over five thousand teddies for charity.
After the ice got cleaned up, both teams resumed play, and the Stingrays retaliated by scoring at 3:39. Jack Adams would get credited for the goal, as he and his fellow Stingrays applied intense pressure on Bednard. Shortly after the goal, at 3:53, a stock of penalties would be issued to two Swamp Rabbits and Stingrays players. The tide shifted off offensive pressure for both teams, as both would shoot just once on the respective goalies before SC got a powerplay at 5:46. The Stingrays were aggressive, checking Swamp Rabbits’ hard to the boards. They would shoot three times on Bednard, with the Swamp Rabbits shooting two times on Bjorkland. At 8:19, another round of multiple penalties being issued to both teams’ would occur again. The Rabbits took advantage of this, however, as they would score at 8:27 by Nikita Pavlychev from an assist by fellow Ontario Reign forward, Ryan Francis. After the goal by Pavlychev, the Stingrays would control the momentum for several minutes before getting penalized at 14:29. Greenville’s hot power play unit went into effect, as Nikita Pavlychev would see an open door opportunity to score his second of the night to make it 3-1.
Not much action would transpire after Pavlychev’s goal, however, as more penalties would be issued to both teams’ again, and further change the order in both teams’ execution. The first twenty minutes would conclude 3-1 Greenville.
2nd Period
The second period started great for the Rabbits, as they controlled the O-zone momentum and eventually scored at 3:01 by J.D. Greenway. South Carolina turned the puck over in their zone, as Greenway intercepted the puck and gave his team a four-goal lead. And then minutes later, the Stingrays would go to the box and serve the Rabbits a power play. Greenville, yet again, did not waste the man advantage opportunity, as Brannon McManus would net his third of the season from a pass by Pavlychev at 7:34. It was now 5-1 Greenville; they held a four-goal lead; but there was still enough time for the Stingrays to capitalize. A Greenville penalty at 9:26 would cost the Rabbits a goal, as Josh Wilkins wristed the puck past Bednard. After the goal, Greenville tried to keep the momentum going in South Carolina’s zone, but couldn’t score. Around the 14:00 mark, the Stingrays would control the momentum and score—not once, not twice, but three times. At the final second mark of 19:59, Tyson Empey fired a snap shot at Bednard and scored. Again, the final second mark of the period resulted in a goal…
3rd Period
The third period was something! Both teams were tied at five entering into the final twenty. However, South Carolina found their motivation to take the game, as Greenville fell off the moving train. The Swamp Rabbits had ten shots on goal, while the Stingrays had eleven. Greenville mismanaged the puck too many times and gave the Stingrays scoring opportunities. At 2:35, Josh Wilkins would get a hat trick from a breakaway. As a result, Bednard would get pulled, and Ingham would be in between the pipes. But, another turnover would create a two-on-two for the Stingrays, as Ryan Leibold would score to give his team the two-goal lead. Close to the 11:00 mark, the Rabbits’ would shoot six times on Bjorkland for three minutes, but none would go through. In a desperate situation to score, head coach Andrew Lord called a time-out before pulling Ingham for the extra attacker at 16:31. The extra attacker for Greenville did not effectively produce anything; only high and wide shots, or shots that would hit the iron and get covered by Bjorkland. The attempts to score at all were shadowed at 18:50, as another mishandling of the puck would bite the Rabbits’ in the feet and allow the Stingrays to score an empty netter.
The game would thus conclude at a disappointing loss of 5-8 Greenville, as their win streak would stop at just eight wins. Too many turnovers, exhausted puck handling, no discipline, and tiredness would cost the Swamp Rabbits. A blown lead such as that hasn’t happened for this team at all this season. However, a similar dynamic of allowing their opponent teams to score and slowly increase their chances has been seen lately.
It comes down to discipline and motivation to play.
