GAME PREVIEW: April 13th @ Savannah

REGULAR SEASON GAME 71: Greenville Swamp Rabbits @ Savannah Ghost Pirates

2023-24 COMPARISON

HEAD-TO-HEAD COMPARISON (11 of 13 Games Played)

SOUTH DIVISION PLAYOFF RACE 2024 (As of 4/13)

• 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
• *NOTE: Orlando holds the tiebreaker over South Carolina, should they finish with equal points

RACE TO THE SOUTH DIVISION TITLE: With the win against Atlanta in dominating fashion last night, the Swamp Rabbits have positioned themselves to claim a South Division title. The Swamp Rabbits can claim home ice for the first two rounds tonight IF AND ONLY IF Greenville wins AND Jacksonville loses IN REGULATION.

HATS OFF!: A night before his 300th ECHL Game, Tanner Eberle notched the first hat trick of his ECHL career, doing so in natural style with three consecutive goals to balloon the Swamp Rabbits lead to 4-0 in the second period. Eberle now has 88 goals and 172 points in 299 ECHL games, inflating his goal total with his first multi-goal performance of the season. There was a common thread on all of his goals last night... 

(MC)MAN(US) OF THE HOUR: ...and that’s where Brannon McManus enters the chat! McManus assisted all three of Eberle’s goals in his natural hat trick, earning what the internet consensus seems to label a “Joe Thornton Hat Trick” with a trio of assists on the game. McManus is no stranger to both multi-point and multi-assist performances this season, now with seven on the season, two of which have been three assist performances. Finishing up his second professional season, McManus has matched his goal scoring total and obliterated his assist total: he carries a dozen ignitions of the goal lamp and 34 helpers for 46 points with two games remaining.

 “TUP” OF THE MORNING TO YA!: Making his professional debut last night was Zach Tupker, who also celebrated the occasion with his first professional point, assisting Josh McKechney’s shorthanded strike in the second period. Tupker comes to the Swamp Rabbits from Quinnipiac, notching 21 points in 39 games as he helped the defending NCAA National Champions to a Regional Final finish in the 2024 NCAA Tournament this season. Prior to his time with the Bobcats, he skated four years with Cornell University, and over his five collegiate seasons, earned 42 points in 125 contests. 

GREAT BRITT: Also celebrating the milestone of his first professional point was Logan Britt, who earned his first assist on Anthony Beauchamp’s second goal of the game, the last one on the game sheet to bring the final score to 7-3. Britt joined the Swamp Rabbits from the University of North Dakota last week, making his professional debut on April 5th at Orlando, completing his final collegiate season with seven goals and assists in 40 games, ending the campaign with a nail-biting opening round loss to Michigan in the NCAA Tournament. Britt brings over 170 games of collegiate experience to the Swamp Rabbits, split between UND, Sacred Heart, and Qunnipiac.

TREASURED POINTS: The Swamp Rabbits and Ghost Pirates meet for a penultimate time this season, with Savannah coming into this game with points gained in eight of their last 10 (5-2-3-0). Head-to-head, the Swamp Rabbits are 9-2-0-0 against the Ghost Pirates, with Savannah earning points in five of the series’ 11 games.  The Swamp Rabbits have won four straight against Savannah, and a 4-1-0-0 at Enmarket Arena this season.