GREENVILLE, S.C. — The Greenville Swamp Rabbits will be hosting the reigning Kelly Cup Champions, the Florida Everblades, today and tomorrow afternoon (Nov. 16/17) at Bon Secours Wellness Arena for a heated division rivalry. Today’s game has an early puck drop at 4:05 p.m., with tomorrow’s game being a little earlier at 3:05 p.m.
What To Expect From The Teams
The Teams’ Statistics
The Swamp Rabbits came off with a win of 4-3 against the Savannah Ghost Pirates this week during their School Day game, and are slowly climbing up in the standings. So far, the club is 4-3-1 for nine points in eight games, with a 50% win percentage.
Meanwhile, the Everblades are first in the eastern conference and south division being 8-2-0 from ten games for 16 points. The three-time Kelly Cup Champs are not letting off in terms of gameplay and action, as the team currently has scored 30 goals and only allowed 17.
However, their power play and penalty killing units are not the greatest compared to their divisional foes, the Swamp Rabbits.
The Power Plays and Penalty Kills
The Blades have a 12.1% PP success with a 76% kill percentage; they have only scored four goals out of 33 PP opportunities, and have also killed off 26 of 34 penalties. Meanwhile, the Swamp Rabbits are red-hot in that department under the coaching of Kyle Mountain and Adam Duada in-company, as they possess a 18.2% PP success and a 90% PK.
They have scored six goals from 33 power play opportunities and have killed 26 of 29 penalties.
Top Players
Carter Savoie of the Swamp Rabbits is the current top point maker for his team with eight points from four goals and four assists respectively. He was the first star during the recent game of this week against Savannah, when he scored a power play goal to give his team a 4-2 lead in the third period.
Bryce Brodzinski has seven points from four goals and three assists; he is coming off a mad point streak in the last week. Parker Berge is the top defender for this team, as he has a goal and six assists.
For the Everblades’ top point makers, they have the likes of Logan Lambdin who has nine points for five goals and four assists in all ten games played. Colton Hargrove has nine points from three goals and six assists.
Oliver Chau, the previous Blades MVP, is currently underperforming as he has recorded only four points from a goal and three assists. Kris Myllari is the top defender for this club, as he has a goal and four assists in eight games.
Goaltending
Prior to today’s match-up, the Swamp Rabbits got the word that Jacob Ingham would get called up to the Ontario Reign to back up for Phoenix Copley in the American Hockey League (AHL), after Erik Portillo recently got called up by the Los Angeles Kings. As a result, Dryden McKay will likely start today and likely tomorrow.
He has currently played in six games for this season, posting a 3.46 goals-against average (GAA) and a 0.893 save-percentage (SV%) for 150 saves and 15 goals allowed. The team will have Kolby Hay backing up for McKay while Ingham is away.
For the Everblades’ tending, the club will have the likes of three-time Kelly Cup Champion, Cam Johnson, in between the posts. He has played in six games so far, while posting a 1.65 GAA and a 0.924 SV% for 132 saves and 10 goals allowed.
For his back-up, he and the team will have Will Cranley, who has participated in four games, and has a 1.76 GAA and a 0.940 SV%.
Puck drop starts at 4:05 p.m. of game one in this two-game series between the Florida Everblades and Greenville Swamp Rabbits.
