Morning Tea: Swamp Rabbits AT Everblades (3/4/22 - 7:30PM)

Greenville Swamp Rabbits (19-22-4-3) vs. Florida Everblades (30-16-4-4)

March 4, 2022 | 7:30 PM | Regular Season Game #49Hertz Arena | Estero, FL

Referees: Trevor Wohlford (38)Linesmen: Charlie O’Connor (43), Tannum Wyonzek (74)

BROADCAST INFORMATIONPregame Coverage begins at 7:15PMLISTEN: Greenville Swamp Rabbits Broadcast NetworkWATCH: FloHockey Live StreamVoice of the Swamp Rabbits Mark Shelley on the call

EVERBLADES SEASON SERIES 

Season Series Record:

Overall: (4-3-1-0) Home: (3-3-1-0) Away: (1-0-0-0)

Last Meeting: 

March 2, 2022 Greenville 3 at Florida 2

Next Meeting: 

March 5, 2022 Greenville at Florida

ECHL STANDINGS 

Standings

QUICK BITS

WINNING WEDNESDAY:

The Swamp Rabbits defeated the Florida Everblades in come from behind fashion on Wednesday night at Hertz Arena. Blake Winiecki got the scoring started in the first period, giving the Everblades a 1-0 lead at the 5:42 mark. Just beyond the midway point of the first period, Ben Freeman buried the game tying goal at 11:09 giving us the 1-1 scoreline that remained until the second period. John McCarron added a tally to the board at 6:18 of the second, the only strike of the period leaving the Swamp Rabbits behind as the final frame started. Nikita Pavlychev scored a game tying goal when the puck bounced off the end board and onto his stick at the 7:05 mark in the third. Shawn Cameron netted the game winner with 5:13 left to play, completing the Rabbits comeback and giving them a third consecutive win. 

SCOUTING THE EVERBLADES:

The Rabbits have two more games in Florida, taking on the Everblades on Friday and Saturday night. Florida holds third place in the South Division with a record of 30-16-4-4 and has outscored opponents 183-143 this season. The high scoring Florida offense contains three of the ECHL’s top-10 leading scorers, Blake Winiecki (2), John McCarron (3) and Joe Pendenza (10). Additionally Winiecki and McCarron are tied for the second most goals in the ECHL this season with 22 while the leader has scored 24 times. Winiecki leads the Everblades’ scoring efforts, recording 57 points this season (24g, 33a). Parker Gahagen has been the primary netminder for the Everblades, recording a record of 12-8-1-1, 2.36GAA and .918SV%. Gahagen is ranked fourth among ECHL goaltenders for goals against average and fifth in the save percentage category. 

FEELIN’ FITZY?:

Swamp Rabbits goaltender, Evan Fitzpatrick appeared in two games this past weekend against the Orlando Solar Bears. Fitzpatrick recorded his first ECHL shutout on Sunday, stopping all 32 shots he faced. Fitzy followed that up on Tuesday morning by stopping 29 of the 31 shots he faced in a 3-2 win over the Solar Bears. Fitzpatrick holds a 5-9-2-0 record, 2.72GAA and .907SV%; he is one of two Swamp Rabbits goaltenders ranked in the top 15 in the ECHL.

AMAZIN’ AYDEN: 

Ayden MacDonald has been a staple in the Swamp Rabbits line up since joining the squad in early January. The 25 year-old rookie has appeared in 21 ECHL games and has netted 14 points, evenly split between goals and assists (7g, 7a). MacDonald has three assists in the last three games and seven points in the last 10 games (2g, 7a). 

WHAT’S ON TAP:

Following the series in Estero, the Rabbits travel home to host the Norfolk Admirals on Wednesday at 7:05 p.m. The Admirals hold sixth place in the South Division with an 18-28-2-2 record. Norfolk has struggled on both sides of the puck for much of the season, ranking 26th in the ECHL for both goals for and goals against, they have been outscored 130-182 by opponents this season. Alex Tonge has been the primary scorer for the Admirals, recording 41 points in his 45 games this season (22g, 19a). Dylan Wells has seen most of the action in goal, boasting an 11-13-1-0 record, 3.67GAA and .895SV%. Wells is tied with Ryan Bednard of the South Carolina Stingrays for most shootout wins in the ECHL (3) and also holds a perfect shootout percentage stopping all eight shots he has faced.