ORLANDO COMES BACK TO TAKE GAME ONE AGAINST GREENVILLE

ORLANDO, Fla. – Nick Prkusic’s first period goal wasn’t enough to stave off the Orlando Solar Bears, who came back with three unanswered goals in the third period to defeat the Greenville Swamp Rabbits by a 3-1 score on Thursday night. The game started a crucial “three-in-three” series, the final matchups head-to-head between both clubs this season.

Nick Prkusic provided the only goal of the first 20 minutes to give the Swamp Rabbits a lead heading into the first intermission. With 9:40 left in the first period, JD Greenway jumped off the blue line and towards the left faceoff circle, recognizing the chaos in front of the net. Greenway found Prkusic in the high slot, and his recipient rifled a one-time past Orlando goaltender Evan Fitzpatrick to give the Swamp Rabbits a 1-0 lead (Greenway and Carter Souch assisted). The Solar Bears thought they had the game tied up moments later, but Jaydon Dureau’s tying strike was waved off for goaltender interference, keeping the game at 1-0 for Greenville heading into the second period.

After both teams were kept off the scoresheet in the second, Orlando took control in the final frame. Aaron Luchuk tied the game at 1:42 of the third period on the power play, rifling a shot over the shoulder of Swamp Rabbits net-minder Jacob Ingham from the right faceoff circle to make it 1-1 (Ben Carroll and Brayden Low assisted). In the final five minutes, Orlando’s Spencer Kersten broke the deadlock with his first professional goal, the eventual game-winning marker. With 4:48 left in the game, Kersten took a pass from Avery Winslow during a Swamp Rabbits line change, and fired a shot from the slot area off the post and past Ingham to give Orlando a 2-1 lead. The Swamp Rabbits pulled Ingham for the extra skater in the final minutes, desperately trying to tie the game, but Marc-Andre Gaudet hit the empty Greenville net from behind his own goal line with 10 seconds left, sealing a 3-1 Orlando win.

Jacob Ingham stopped 20 of 22 shots in the defeat, his first regulation loss since a 1-0 defeat at Jacksonville on March 17^th (16-8-3-1).

The Swamp Rabbits continue their “three-in-three” with the Solar Bears tomorrow, Friday, April 5^th, and Saturday, April 6^th. Puck drop for both games at the Kia Center is slated for 7:00 p.m. EST.

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About the Greenville Swamp Rabbits …
Acquired by Spire Sports + Entertainment (SS+E) in 2020, the Greenville Swamp Rabbits hockey team have been providing family friendly, live entertainment at Bon Secours Wellness Arena since 2010. Formerly the Greenville Road Warriors, the Swamp Rabbits are the highest-level professional minor league franchise in South Carolina. The Swamp Rabbits are the proud ECHL affiliate of the NHL's LA Kings and the AHL's Ontario Reign. Greenville is a member of the ECHL, Premier ‘AA’ Hockey League.