GREENVILLE, S.C. — The Greenville Swamp Rabbits hosted two of their division rivals, the Orlando Solar Bears and Atlanta Gladiators, for a two-game homestand first starting on Dec. 6 against the Solar Bears at Bon Secours Wellness Arena. Before the games, the Swamp Rabbits were 9th place in the eastern conference, two points ahead of the Solar Bears.
Game One — Orlando Solar Bears vs. Greenville Swamp Rabbits
Michael Simpson started for Orlando, while Jacob Ingham, returning from the Ontario Reign assignment, started for Greenville.
1st Period
The Solar Bears started the first period with incredible control and offensive momentum. In the first eight seconds of play, the Bears opened up the scoring as Aaron Luchuk wristed one past the sleeve of Ingham from Jack Adam’s cross-ice feed.
Then, 15 minutes later, Luchuk grabbed another goal to secure a two-o lead over the Swamp Rabbits after a rebound shot trickled across the crease with no protection from the Rabbits’ d-core for Luchuk to tuck it in. Simple, good defensive coverage and aggressive backchecking kept the Rabbits’ scoring chances at bay by the visiting team; the Bears were on it during this period.
Shots on goal: ORL 10; GVL 7
2nd Period
1:45 into the period, Bryce Brodzinski would score a top-shelf, power-play goal to draw a point for the Rabbits. 87 seconds left of the second, Ben Poisson would tip one in, but would have speculation by the referees and Solar Bears.
So Poisson’s goal would go under official review by referees Yannick Jobin-Manseau and Mitchell Hardy. But after review, the goal was overturned as the puck did not completely cross the goal line.
However, first goal or not, a response would be seen by the Rabbits, as Tyson Fawcett tied it up by two seconds after the review. All around, a better-looking period for the Swamp Rabbits: odd-man rushes were generating offensive looks, and they tore down the Solar Bears’ previous intense backchecking.
Shots on goal: ORL 8; GVL 13
3rd Period
Both teams had good looks on the net and in their o-zones, but none of them could close out on a tie-breaking goal in the first few minutes of the third. But at 15:13, Luchuk grabbed a hat trick from Jack Adam’s saucer. That would be Adam’s third primary assist of the game.
So, with 1:30 left on the clock, the coaches on Greenville’s bench called for Ingham to get pulled for the extra attacker. And surely enough, the extra man worked in the Swamp Rabbits’ favor, as John Parker-Jones would tie it up and net his first in a Rabbits’ sweater at 1:45 from his first ECHL game of the season after getting sent down by the Ontario Reign.
The game was now tied at three a piece, which sent it to sudden-death overtime; the same dynamic occurred during the two teams’ first match-up of the season at Bon Secours Wellness Arena.
Overtime
The Solar Bears threw five shots on Ingham, while the Swamp Rabbits had six on Simpson. Both netminders made great saves after great saves to protect their game-winning chances. Ultimately, that ushered in a shootout.
Shootout
The Solar Bears took it in a shootout, with the final score being 4-3. All three shot attempts rendered goals, whereas the two for Greenville rendered goals; Brodzinski had the final opportunity to score but ultimately got denied by Simpson.
Media’s Three Stars
- Aaron Luchuk (3 goals hat trick)
2. Jack Adams (3 assists)
3. Spencer Kersten (1 assist and game winning shootout goal)
Game Two — Gladiators vs. Swamp Rabbits — 12/7
Dryden McKay took the goaltending mantle during this game for the Swamp Rabbits, while Evan Haider started for the Gladiators. The Gladiators previously came off a 1-7 defeat in Savannah against the Ghost Pirates during the previous night.
1st Period
This period was mainly controlled by the Gladiators, as attentive zone pressure led to some looks on net. Toward the end of the period, the Swamp Rabbits saw odd man chances in the Gladiators end, but ultimately Haider and his defenders made the stops.
Less than a minute remaining, Tate Singleton had a breakaway opportunity to open up scoring, but shot pad side on Haider. So after 20, the game was tied zero-zero.
Shots on goal: ATL 12; GVL 6
2nd Period
Atlanta would have an abbreviated power play to work with heading into the second frame. At 1:05, Miles Gendron would draw a forcing hand on the puck penalty, ushering 5-on-3 for 30 seconds.
However, the Gladiators did not capitalise on the two-man advantage, as Greenville made the clears and blocks to keep the score at zero a piece. Later on, the Swamp Rabbits became more aggressive in the Gladiators’ front.
At 12:10, Patrick Moynihan was awarded a penalty shot for being interfered with on the breakaway. However, Haider denied it, and still, after 30 minutes, no score was seen by either team.
11 seconds before the buzzer, Brent Pedersen drew a penalty and would send the Gladiators to another abbreviated power play to the next 20-minute frame.
Shots on goal: ATL 14; GVL 17
3rd Period
McKay made more great saves on the Rabbits’ penalty kill, denying three shot opportunities. Later on, a team would finally render something on the board, as Cody Sylvester’s shot on McKay would trickle in at 13:07 to give the Glads a 1-0 lead.
Things got chippy afterward for the Rabbits, as the team needed to tie or score two goals. The Gladiators were rock-solid on defensive coverage, however, so the Greenville club dreaded a tying goal before the buzzer.
Less than two minutes left, McKay got pulled for the extra attacker, but the team wasted the opportunity by overpassing and not having the best slots to shoot it past the Gladiators’ defenders in their o-zone. Haider had more great pad and glove saves, so his team had a lot a credit for the defensive response.
But with 4.6 seconds left, the Rabbits had a final second go to tie it up, but ultimately fell short from the Gladiators’ solid defensive core.
Final Shots on goal: ATL 32; GVL 32
Media’s Three Stars
- Ethan Haider (32 save shutout)
2. Cody Sylvester (Game winning goal)
3. Dryden McKay (31 saves of 32 shots)
The weekend slate wasn’t over for these two teams, however, as they would take a short trip to Gas South Arena to cap off this three-in-three weekend schedule.
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