RABBITS RECAP: April 2nd

Time is winding down in the 2023-24 ECHL Season, and the Swamp Rabbits have officially clinched a playoff spot! With only six games remaining, there is much to still be determined regarding home-ice advantage, an all-important South Division title, and potential matchups in the opening round of the 2024 Kelly Cup Playoffs. Here's a look at the weekend that was in today's "Rabbits Recap".

REGULAR SEASON GAME 64 (Thursday, March 28, 2024)

Greenville Swamp Rabbits 3, Savannah Ghost Pirates 2 (OT)

SAV: Pinard/Long-G Each; Papirny-33sv/36sh (OTL)

GVL: Souch-GWG at 2:07 of OT; Somoza-2ast; Bednard-26sv/28sh (W/OT)

GAME RECAP

REGULAR SEASON GAME 65 (Friday, March 29, 2024)

South Carolina Stingrays 3, Greenville Swamp Rabbits 2 (OT) - "Girls Night Out"

SC: Magera-GWPPG at 3:58 of OT; Strang/Adams-G Each

GVL: Souch/Kemp-G, Ast Each; Penalty Killing Streak Snapped at 25 Straight Over 12 Games

GAME RECAP

REGULAR SEASON GAME 66 (Saturday, March 20, 2024)

South Carolina Stingrays 4, Greenville Swamp Rabbits 1

SC: O'Neil-PPG, 3ast; Magera-PPG, 2ast; Gibson-19sv/20sh (W)

GVL: Somoza-G

GAME RECAP

SOUTH DIVISION PLAYOFF RACE 2024 (As of 4/2)

• 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. Same principle is used for Home Ice #, except with 3rd Place team

UPCOMING GAMES

• Thursday, April 4th @ Orlando Solar Bears
• Friday, April 5th @ Orlando Solar Bears
• Saturday, April 6th @ Orlando Solar Bears

NOTES AND NUMBERS

CONNECT FOUR: With the point gained against the Stingrays and an Orlando loss to Savannah in regulation last Friday, the Greenville Swamp Rabbits will fight for Patrick Kelly’s Cup for a fourth straight year under Head Coach Andrew Lord. The fourth consecutive trip is the third such string of four-plus appearances in the bracket in Swamp Rabbits/Johnstown Chiefs history, and the second time under the Swamp Rabbits/Road Warriors. The deepest the Swamp Rabbits have gone in the playoffs is the Eastern Conference Finals, a stage reached in the 2021 Kelly Cup Playoffs, Coach Lord's first season at the helm.

THE NEXT STEP: The "x" is next to the Swamp Rabbits in the standings, which means the goal following a playoff berth is home ice advantage. The following two scenarios on Thursday win the Swamp Rabbits home ice advantage in the first round, at minimum;

• Swamp Rabbits win (any fashion) AND South Carolina loses (any fashion)
• Swamp Rabbits earn a point AND South Carolina loses IN REGULATION

SOMO WRESTLER: Swamp Rabbits forward Ethan Somoza has been quite noticeable as of recently, and comes into this week's series against Orlando in solid form. Somoza has four points in his last four games, headlined by a pair of assists in the overtime win against Savannah, and the only goal in Saturday's defeat at South Carolina. He enters the final six games of the year eight points from tying his career-high of 39: Somoza has 15 goals, 16 assists, and 31 points to his credit, having played all 66 games thus far this year.

ALL GOOD THINGS MUST END: Austin Magera’s overtime winner on Friday came on the power play, the only penalty of the game committed by the Swamp Rabbits, ending quite an illustrious streak for the Swamp Rabbits penalty kill. Magera’s marker on the man-advantage ended the Swamp Rabbits penalty-killing streak at 25 in a row, 12+ games in which the team didn’t allow a power play goal from February 24th against the Rapid City Rush to Thursday against Savannah last week.

THEY SAID IT

"It's a great test. Everybody, right now, is fully loaded, everybody has grabbed some college guys, and everyone seems to get a little healthier this time of year. The other teams in our division look great as well. There are no nights off, we just have to keep working the process. There's a lot to play for here in the standings. I think first place goes a long way as far as home ice and all of that for the first two rounds. Any advantage you can get and set yourself up with, let's do it, because you know it's going to be the ultimate test here in a few weeks."

-Head Coach Andrew Lord on playoff preparation playing in the South Division with two weeks left in the season

"I've been trying to play hard every game, and trying to be a leader for the team. I feel like I was snakebitten in the first half [of the season], but I didn't let it get to me because we were winning games. Its a lot different when your team isn't winning and you're not scoring, a bit of added pressure. I'm happy this second half has gone the way I've wanted it to, and I'm able to contribute in big games for the team. We're the type of team that needs every guy contributing, and we have that. You can tell by our stats that we are really deep up front and have a lot of guys that can score, so any time I can contribute is great."

-Forward Tanner Eberle on his scoring success in the second half of the year

"We weren't reinventing the wheel, but the main takeaway is you always have to be on. That's true in any league, but the consequences could be dire if your mind isn't in it. It includes practice, as well as games. In order for me to remain [in the AHL], I had to be focused. There's no reason why you can't bring that focus to Greenville. No nights off, no shifts off, especially at this time of the year...that's my biggest takeaway when you're coming from one level to the next, is just being dialed in every situation on the ice."

-Defenseman Sam Jardine on the biggest thing he brings back to Greenville from his time in Calgary