JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - Michael Houser stopped all 24 shots he saw, and led by Chris Grando's first period goal, powered the Jacksonville Icemen to a 1-0 win over the Greenville Swamp Rabbits on Sunday afternoon. The loss marks three straight for the Swamp Rabbits, and back-to-back shutout defeats for the first time since February 20 and 21, 2021 against the Indy Fuel.
Chris Grando provided the only goal of the game in the first period, giving Jacksonville a 1-0 lead they wouldn't relinquish. With 7:47 left in the first, Jerry D'Amigo found Grando from behind the net in the high slot, with the latter fluttering a shot past the arm of Swamp Rabbits net-minder Jacob Ingham, pushing the Icemen to their advantage (D'Amigo and Logan Cockerill assisted). Michael Houser, manning the Icemen net, stopped all 9 shots he saw in the opening frame from Greenville.
Both goalies were perfect in the second period, Houser turning aside another 7 Swamp Rabbits shots, and Ingham denying 9 from Jacksonville. The pressure escalated in the final frame, when Greenville's Max Coyle was assessed a five-minute major and game misconduct for elbowing, putting Jacksonville on a major power play with 14:54 left in the game. The Swamp Rabbits weathered the storm, then went to a power play of their own with 2:56 left in the contest. Pulling Ingham for the extra-attacker, the Swamp Rabbits had a 6-on-4 advantage, but couldn't solve Houser, who stopped another 8 shots to complete a 24-save shutout, leading the Icemen to a 1-0 win.
Jacob Ingham suffered a regulation defeat for the first time since February 16th, stopping 27 of 28 shots faced (16-7-2-0).
The Swamp Rabbits rematch the Icemen this upcoming weekend for another pair of games at Vystar Veterans Memorial Arena. Puck drop for Friday and Saturday, March 22nd and 23rd, is slated for 7:00 p.m. EST.
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