RABBITS RECAP: March 26th

The Swamp Rabbits got back to their winning and point-getting ways this last weekend, closing out their regular season series with the Jacksonville Icemen on the road. With nine games remaining in the season, the race to clinch a playoff spot and a possible South Division crown heats up even more. Here's a look at the weekend that was in today's "Rabbits Recap":

REGULAR SEASON GAME 62 (Friday, March 22, 2024)

Greenville Swamp Rabbits 5, Jacksonville Icemen 4

JAX: Iacopelli-Hat Trick; Van Whye-G, Ast; Murdaca-34sv/35sh (L)

GVL: Souch-Hat Trick, Ast; Freeman-3ast; Eberle-G; Ast; Bednard-38sv/42sh (W)

GAME RECAP

REGULAR SEASON GAME 63 (Saturday, March 23, 2024)

Jacksonville Icemen 4, Greenville Swamp Rabbits 3 (SO)

JAX: Grando/L. Brown/D'Amigo-G Each; Vernon-22sv/25sh, 2/3 SO (W)

GVL: Eberle-GTG w/51.1 sec left, Ast; Freeman-PPG, Ast; Ingham-35sv/38sh, 1/3 SO (SOL)

GAME RECAP

SOUTH DIVISION PLAYOFF RACE 2024 (As of 3/26)

• 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

UPCOMING GAMES

• Thursday, March 28th vs Savannah Ghost Pirates
• Friday, March 29th vs South Carolina Stingrays
• Saturday, March 30th @ South Carolina Stingrays

NOTES AND NUMBERS

MAD HATTER: Friday's win against the Icemen marked the first time a Swamp Rabbits player netted a hat trick, and to no surprise, it came off the stick of Carter Souch. Souch became the first Swamp Rabbit to ignite the goal lamp three times or more in a single contest since Nikita Pavlychev wrecked the Savannah Ghost Pirates with a four-goal performance on April 13, 2023, in a 7-1 win. With Jacksonville's Matheon Iacopelli also producing a hat trick of his own, it marked the first time since March 19, 2022 against the Norfolk Admirals, that both the Swamp Rabbits and their opposition had a skater rifle off three goals (Ayden MacDonald of Greenville, Noah Corson of Norfolk). 

EBB AND FLOW: If it hasn't been made bluntly apparent this season, veteran forward Tanner Eberle is a man of many talents. In both games against the Icemen, Eberle notched a goal and an assist, with his Saturday strike coming in the final minute of regulation to tie the game and give the Swamp Rabbits a crucial point in the standings. Eberle's multi-point performances are his first strung in back-to-back fashion this season. His seven multi-point performances are tied for third on the Swamp Rabbits with Nikita Pavlychev and and Josh McKechney.

FREE(MAN) BIRD: Swamp Rabbits captain Ben Freeman had himself a weekend against the Icemen, rattling off five points in 127+ minutes of hockey. Freeman started off the weekend with a three assist performance in the team's 5-4 win over Jacksonville, helping out on two of Carter Souch's three goals in the victory. The third-year forward then followed that up with a power play goal and an assist off a faceoff win on Joe Leahy's second period strike to bring the contest to a one-goal margin on Saturday before the Swamp Rabbits gutted out their point in the shootout defeat. With his five-point outburst over two nights, Freeman also recorded his first back-to-back multi-point performances of the campaign.

SIX OF ONE/HALF A DOZEN OF ANOTHER (WINS AWAY): With their win on Friday against Jacksonville, the Swamp Rabbits find themselves six wins away from setting both a new franchise and Greenville professional hockey record for wins in a single campaign. Sitting at 41 on the year with nine games remaining, the Swamp Rabbits have a chance to break the 46-win mark, previously set twice: most recently by the Greenville Road Warriors in 2010-2011, and first by the Greenville Grrrowl in 1999-2000.

THE SWAMP RABBITS PK IS REALLY GOOD: There really isn't much more to say about the Swamp Rabbits penalty kill, that went unscathed once again through two games against the Icemen. Going 1/1 on Friday and 4/4 on Saturday, which included the Herculean task of killing 4:39 of 7:00 in overtime, which is four-on-three hockey, the Swamp Rabbits killing streak is now at 22 straight opposing power plays, and eleven straight games in which they haven’t allowed a power play goal. The Swamp Rabbits streak of three kills or less ended on Saturday in their 4/4 performance, marking the first time since February 16th that the Swamp Rabbits were on the PK that much in a single game to halt the streak to 13 straight contests. Dating back to February 17th, the Swamp Rabbits have staved off 29 of their last 30 kills (96.7%)

THEY SAID IT

"They've been together now for a little bit, which has been nice having some line chemistry. [Ben Freeman] is the ultimate 200-foot centerman, and does things the right way shift in and shift out. [Tanner Eberle's] game over the last 10 or 15 games is arguably the best I've ever seen him play, just a balance of good, sound, defensive hockey, being reliable in all three zones, and having his compete and 'heavy on puck' mentality. And [Carter Souch], what else can you say? It's been so much fun working with him almost two full seasons. The growth he's had is huge. He's just scratching the surface. I'd love to see him this time next year, but I'm sure he'll be up a level. I'm excited to see where his game goes: he's harder to play against, heavier, stronger than last season and it shows when he plays effectively against team's top defenders every night."

-Head Coach Andrew Lord on the Freeman-Souch-Eberle line's success

"I think guys were being more direct, shooting pucks, getting to the net more, and really just being simple. I know I'm not scoring a lot right now, but I'm just trying to play the right way. Be simple, be direct, and be intentional. The scoring will come."

-Swamp Rabbits defenseman Max Martin on the team's offensive mentality in the win against the Icemen

"We're bought in. We have a great system, but it comes down to hard work and execution at the end of the day, and everyone that's on the [penalty] kill is doing exactly that. We're bought in to blocking shots, getting pucks out, and playing our system, and that's what gets it done. Staying out of the box as well as we do is also a result of that buy in. We have a close-knit group, we have the same goal in mind, and when you have that, great things are going to happen."

-Martin on the team's success penalty killing over the last month

"From my point of view, I love playing these games. It's fun. We have a sore taste in our mouth from [Jacksonville] knocking us out of the playoffs last year. We've kept that in the back of our mind all year long. I think this is a team we may face in the playoffs down the line. We have to continue to play the right way. Every game down the stretch means so much, especially against the Icemen, so I think when we play the way we can, we're unstoppable. If we do see them later on, they'll know we're ready for them."

-Swamp Rabbits forward Carter Souch on the rivalry with the Jacksonville Icemen