Graveyard Gossip: Weekend Recap

https://thehockeynews.com/news/echl-savannah-ghost-pirates-begin-the-haunt-with-home-opener

This past weekend was quite a busy one for the Savannah Ghost Pirates as they had three games back to back. Thursday, they played against Orlando Solar Bears, Friday against the Florida Everblades, and last night in Greenville against the Swamp Rabbits. They lost each of the three matches; however, they were each very well fought. Orlando won 2-1, Florida 4-2, and Greenville 5-2.

Thursday vs Orlando:
Ryan Cox and Tyler Bird helped Ben Carroll get the first goal of the game five minutes into the first period. Next up to score was Savannah defender Joe Fleming in the second period on assists from Noah Carroll and Brent Pederson. While the Ghost Pirates held the game at a tie for so long and had a few opportunities to take the lead, Zachary Massicotte beat them to it. He got the game-winning goal for Orlando nine minutes into the last period, assisted by Mitchel Hoelscher and Jimmy Mazza.

There were quite a lot of roughing penalties called on both teams, as well as a fight in the second period between Logan Drevitch and Tanner Schachle. Both teams played hard and strong, but overall Orlando came out on top.

The three stars were:
Colten Ellis (ORL)
Joe Fleming (SAV)
Carter Long (SAV)

Friday vs Florida:
Ross Armour struck first and hard with a goal assisted by Logan Drevitch and Brent Pederson in the first period. Next up came two Florida power play goals, also in the first period. Joe Pendenza and Patrick Holway helped Oliver Chau get the team on the board. The second goal was scored and assisted by the same players, just flip-flopped. This time, Pendenza scored, and Chau and Holway got the assists. No goals were scored in the second period, as both teams’ defensive lines were hot and on fire. Simon Pinard got the next and last goal for Savannah only 1:10 into the third period on assists from Ross Armour. The score didn’t stay tied for very long as Josling lit the lamp five minutes into the final period. The Ghost Pirates took shot after shot, and just couldn’t sneak another one into Evan Cormier’s net. On the other hand, with just a minute left in regulation, the Ghost Pirates pulled McNiven to try and tie the score. Bobo Carpenter took an opportunity and scored on the empty green goal, ensuring his team the win.

The three stars of Friday evening were:
Sean Josling (FL)
Joe Pendenza (FL)
Ross Armour (SAV)

Saturday vs Greenville:
Greenville got the best of Savannah yesterday. Below is the link to the recap article of the game.

Looking Ahead:
Although the outcomes were not what the team had wanted for this weekend, they still came incredibly close on Thursday. They had a few chances to take over the lead on Friday, but unfortunately, too many missed shot opportunities. Michael McNiven has not been with the Ghost Pirates for very long, but he certainly has made quite the first impression in the city of Savannah. The Ghost Pirates play next in Atlanta on the 29th and 30th, then at home on New Year’s Eve, with all three games being against the Gladiators.


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Gabrielle Klempner

Hello! I'm Gabi and I mainly cover the ECHL's Savannah Ghost Pirates, but also the Vegas Golden Knights and the Seattle Kraken. For updates, articles, and more on these teams, follow me on Twitter @gabriellediane0

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