RABBITS TAKE TWO OF THREE OVER AMERICANS, WIN 6-4 ON SATURDAY NIGHT

GREENVILLE, S.C. –  The Greenville Swamp Rabbits garnered a three-game series victory over the Allen Americans after winning the rubber match on Saturday night, 6-4 at Bon Secours Wellness Arena.

In the first period, Allen scored only 27 seconds into the tilt courtesy of Les Lancaster’s seventh goal of the campaign. Lancaster received a left-wing pass from Corey Mackin and beat Rabbits goaltender Ryan Bednard.

The Swamp Rabbits responded with three unanswered tallies, beginning with Liam Pecararo on the power play at 3:42. From the left circle, Pecararo fired a wrist shot bar-down to equalize the score at 1-1.

Greenville grabbed the lead with Matt Bradley’s ninth goal of the season. Bradley on a breakaway went five-hole past Americans netminder Justin Kapelmaster to give Greenville a 2-1 advantage.

The Bits concluded a three-goal first frame on Garrett Thompson’s first of two goals on the night. Thompson fired a backhander from the slot that trickle through the wickets of Kapelmaster at 15:14. Shots after 20 minutes were 22-7 Greenville to mark a new season-high for most shots in a single period.

In the middle frame, Allen cut into the deficit with a Dyson Stevenson tally at 5:27. Following a turnover at the Rabbits blueline, Stevenson raced to the net and found twine along Bednard’s glove side.

Less than a minute later, the Americans tied the affair at 3-3 courtesy of Joseph Garreffa’s seventh of the season. After the Swamp Rabbits rang iron on one end, Garreffa countered 200 feet away and buried the equalizer at 6:12.

Before intermission, Greenville grabbed the lead back on Thompson’s second goal of the night at 18:13. The Greenville forward finished a Shawn Cameron feed at the net front and slotted the puck by Kapelmaster. Shots after 40 minutes were 33-20 Rabbits.

In the third period, Greenville doubled their advantage with a power play marker from Patrick Bajkov. At the right circle, Bajkov fired quick shot from the right circle through traffic to provide the Swamp Rabbits a 5-3 lead at 4:02.

Allen answered on a power play marker of their own from Josh Lammon at 13:29 to cut the score to 5-4.

In the final minute, Matt Bradley hit the empty net at 19:14 for his second goal of the night and team-best 10th of the season. The Swamp Rabbits improved to 12-9-5-2 in their 6-4 victory over Allen to salvage the weekend.

The Greenville Swamp Rabbits return to action on Friday, March 5 to open a three-game road set with the Rapid City Rush. Puck drop is scheduled for 9:05 p.m.

#RABBITSRISING#

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ABOUT US

Acquired by Spire Sports + Entertainment (SS+E) in 2020, the Greenville Swamp Rabbits hockey team have been providing family friendly, live entertainment at Bon Secours Wellness Arena since 2010. Formerly the Greenville Road Warriors, the Swamp Rabbits are the highest level professional minor league franchise in South Carolina. The Swamp Rabbits are proud affiliates of the NHL’s Florida Panthers and AHL’s Charlotte Checkers. Greenville is a member of the ECHL, Premier ‘AA’ Hockey League. Since the conclusion of the 2019-20 NHL Season, 678 former ECHL players have debuted in the NHL. Nine former Greenville Road Warriors/Swamp Rabbits have later made their NHL debut