GREENVILLE, S.C. – Anthony Rinaldi's hat-trick led the way for the Greenville Swamp Rabbits' offense as it outlasted the Rapid City Rush's late-game comeback for a 7-6 victory on Sunday afternoon at Bon Secours Wellness Arena.
GAME SHEET: https://bit.ly/37ztWzk
| 1st | 2nd | 3rd | Final | ||
| GVL | 2 | 4 | 1 | 7 | |
| RC | 0 | 1 | 5 | 6 |
For the third game in a row against the Rush, Greenville scored the opening goal in the first period, as Anthony Rinaldi pickpocketed a Rapid City defender and turned the puck into the corner of the goal for his 13th of the season at 15:08. Just under 2:30 later, Rinaldi jumped onto the ice and took a cross-ice pass from Kevin McKernan that he buried into the back of the net at 17:29.In the second period, Rinaldi completed the hat-trick at 1:34, paddling a power-play goal to extend the Swamp Rabbits advantage. Less than a minute later, Alex Ierullo threw the puck to the goal, and Ayden MacDonald tipped it into the back of the net for his 16th of the season and the 4-0 lead. Rapid City broke up the shutout, as Brett Gravelle fired his 27th of the season into the net at the 7:32 mark.Greenville regained momentum, as Justin Nachbaur skipped the puck into the slot and found a diving Max Zimmer, who tipped in his 18th of the season at 8:58. At 14:42, Dallas Gerads cut to the goal line and lifted his ninth of the season into the net to give the Swamp Rabbits the 6-1 lead before the intermission. Rapid City began its climb back just 54 seconds into the third period, as Avery Peterson slotted his eighth of the season. At 9:48, MacDonald netted his second of the game, on the power-play, to give the Swamp Rabbits the 7-2 lead. The Rush regained momentum at 12:47 as Alec Butcher scored for a 7-3 score line, before the margin would be cut down to three goals, as Max Coatta scored at 15:18. At 16:49, Rapid City scored, again, from Butcher to cut the deficit to two goals. Moments later, Calder Brooks made it a one-goal game with his 16th of the season at 17:37. Despite a six-on-five scenario, the Rush failed to tie the game, as the Swamp Rabbits held on for the 7-6 victory. With the win, the Swamp Rabbits improve to 32-27-5-4, while the Rush fall to 34-24-6-5. Greenville holds sole possession of the fourth and final playoff spot with 4 games remaining in the regular season. The Swamp Rabbits travel to Jacksonville, FL on Wednesday night to take on the Jacksonville Icemen at 7:00 p.m. Swamp Rabbits Single Game Tickets are on sale now! For more information or to secure your seats today call 864-674-PUCK (7825) or email INFO@SwampRabbits.com
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