GAME PREVIEW: South Division Semifinals Game 5 (Series Tied 2-2)

GAME PREVIEW

2024 KELLY CUP PLAYOFFS: SOUTH DIVISION SEMIFINALS GAME 5

Series Tied 2-2

• Game 1 (April 21, 2024): Orlando 1, Greenville 0 (OT)
• Game 2 (April 22, 2024): Greenville 4, Orlando 2
• Game 3 (April 26, 2024): Orlando 2, Greenville 2 (OT)
• Game 4 (April 27, 2024): Greenville 5, Orlando 3
• Game 5 (April 28, 2024): Greenville @ Orlando
• Game 6* (April 30, 2024): Orlando @ Greenville
• Game 7* (May 1, 2024) Orlando @ Greenville
  *if necessary

Tanner Eberle scored twice as part of a three-point night, pacing four other mutli-point performers in leading the Greenville Swamp Rabbits to a 5-3 win over the Orlando Solar Bears in Game 4 of the South Division Semifinals on Saturday night. The late night win gives the Swamp Rabbits another split of the series, now tied at 2-2 coming into Game 5 on Sunday.

GAME RECAP

NOTES AND NUMBERS

ALL SQUARE: For two straight postseasons, the Swamp Rabbits have evened the South Division Semifinals, doing so last night with a 5-3 win over Orlando. An interesting trend has been apparent through four games of the series: anytime the Swamp Rabbits have won, its been accomplished in regulation, while each Solar Bears win has come past 60 minutes.

KICKSTART MY HEART: It’s not just the Swamp Rabbits goal song, but also an embodiment of how they’ve started off games. Tanner Eberle opened the scoring entries with his second of the playoffs 72 seconds into the contest, the fastest goal in this South Division Semifinal, marking three games in a row that the Swamp Rabbits have scored the opening goal in a game.

EBB-RYTHING IS AWESOME: He gets a brief mention in the last note, so let’s give him a full one! Tanner Eberle’s night only started with that opening goal 72 seconds into the game. It got more lethal from there, as he added another highlight-reel tally and a helper on Ben Freeman’s power play goal in the third period. Eberle, only playing in his second-ever Kelly Cup Playoffs, has now doubled his point total from last season with Greenville. He earned a pair of goals in four games during the 2023 South Division Semifinals, and brings a trio of goals and four points in as many games.

IT’S OKAY, WE’LL START ANOTHER ONE: Unfortunately for the Swamp Rabbits, their illustrious penalty killing streak came to an end in the third period of Game 4. Over the course of eight games and two periods, the Swamp Rabbits killed off 25 consecutive power plays, matching their previous best over a dozen games from February 24th to March 29th. The Swamp Rabbits finished the 2023-24 campaign tied for 7th in the “Premier ‘AA’ Hockey League” at 81.7% While the streak of one special teams unit ended...

I HAVE THE POWER!: ...another one begins! The Swamp Rabbits power play has been electric this series, hitting paydirt in each of the last three games at a near 30% scoring clip. On two different occasions in the regular season, the Swamp Rabbits strung four games together with a power play goal in each, going 7/16 from December 1st to December 9th (43.8%), and 5/20 from New Year’s Eve to January 7th (25%).