RABBITS RECAP: March 19th

It was a tough weekend at the office for the Greenville Swamp Rabbits against Toledo and Jacksonville. Despite the adversity, the Swamp Rabbits still hold serve on both the top spot in the Eastern Conference and South Division, and hold a "magic number" of 10 to clinch a spot in the 2024 Kelly Cup Playoffs. Here's a look at the week that was in this edition of the "Rabbits Recap":

REGULAR SEASON GAME 59 (Friday, March 15, 2024)

Toledo Walleye 4, Greenville Swamp Rabbits 3 (OT)

TOL: Keenan-GWG at 3:19 of OT; Lewandowski-SHG; Sawchuk-2ast

GVL: Beauchamp-GTSHG w/2:37 left; Kemp-G, Ast

GAME RECAP

REGULAR SEASON GAME 60 (Saturday, March 16, 2024)

Toledo Walleye 3, Greenville Swamp Rabbits 0

TOL: Bednar-25sv Shutout; Sawchuk-G, Ast

GVL: 2nd Shutout Loss of Year; 5-Game Point Streak Snapped

GAME RECAP

REGULAR SEASON GAME 61 (Sunday, March 17, 2024)

Jacksonville Icemen 1, Greenville Swamp Rabbits 0

JAX: Houser-24sv Shutout; Grando-GWG at 12:13 of 1st

GVL: B2B Shutout Losses For First Time Since 2/20, 2/21/21 @ Indy

GAME RECAP

SOUTH DIVISION PLAYOFF RACE 2024

• H2H reads "Games Remaining, Record head-to-head"
• Magic # is determined by 5th Place's maximum points plus one, minus team's current point total. Magic # goes down with every point gained by team in playoff position, and every point lost out on by first team out

NOTES AND NUMBERS

AN EBB-RY DAY MAN: Swamp Rabbits veteran Tanner Eberle has been a frequent topic of conversation in the second half of the season, and this mention is no different. The ninth year pro got the comeback started for the Swamp Rabbits on Friday with his 12th goal of the season, starting a run that eventually resulted in a point earned in the standings for Greenville. With that second period strike, Eberle notched his 16th point since January 13th, earning four goals and 12 assists in the second half of the season, only one shy of his first half total (28gp, 8g-9ast-17pts). As far as second-half scoring is concerned, Eberle’s 16 points is tied for the team lead since January 13th, joining Brannon McManus (6g-10ast) and Carter Souch (4g-12ast). He’s also seen much of this success come on home ice, trailing only Carter Souch with 24 points in Bon Secours Wellness Arena (9g-15ast).

KILLING THEM SOFTLY: The Swamp Rabbits were handed a tough test facing the Walleye and Icemen, especially considering the Walleye house the #2 power play in the entire ECHL, clipping over 26% entering the weekend. Boasting a top-10 PK themselves, the Swamp Rabbits thwarted the Toledo man-advantage, holding them to an 0/4 count on the entire weekend, and held Jacksonville to an 0/2 count, including a five-minute major power play in the third period of a one-goal game. The stalwart defense brings the Swamp Rabbits killing streak to 17 straight opposing power plays, and nine straight games in which they haven’t allowed a power play goal. On top of that, the discipline continues to shine: Greenville hasn’t gone to the kill more than three times in 12 consecutive games. The discipline is directly proportional to the team’s recent success: in that 12-game stretch, the Swamp Rabbits are 8-3-1-0. Dating back to February 17th, the Swamp Rabbits have staved off 24 of their last 25 kills (96.0%)

HE SAID IT: ANDREW LORD, HEAD COACH

"He's gotten better and better over the last two and half years we've had him. He's our hardest working player, most dedicated player, and is relentless every day. It's been a real pleasure getting to coach him. It's why you become a coach in the first place, for guys like Anthony Beauchamp. He epitomizes what we want our organization to be about.

"He wasn't really on the penalty kill for a long time. He got some sniffs on it last season and has improved on it so much: his awareness, his route running, his stick detail, his buy-in to the pre-scout, all of it. His goal was just a product of working on driving wide, powering to the net, and he found five-hole. Huge goal for us, and I'm really happy for him."

-on Anthony Beauchamp's penalty-killing and his game-tying shorthanded goal on Friday

"I think we learned a lot, which was great. Obviously the losses weren't great, but to see how we need to play to be successful, how we play when we're not successful, and it's a stark difference, really, when you compare the two. Having to learn to play a full 60 minutes at that other level is a good learning lesson.

"It's process. It's details, not the noise or worrying about the win or the loss, or your lineup position, or even being in the lineup. It's about doing your job, especially in those little areas...little details, little details, and more little details."

-on lessons learned from Toledo and responding following losses during tough tests in-season