"BICENTENNIAL MAN: BEN FREEMAN AND GREENVILLE, SOUTH CAROLINA"

By Mark Binetti, Senior Director of Communications & Team Services/Broadcaster

One of the best parts of watching sports, and players specifically, is celebrating milestone accomplishments of the players in the game. As each milestone is checked off the list, whether it’s a debut, a first pro goal, franchise records, or more, it’s just another sign of how much a player has dedicated to his craft and skill required to execute, and another chapter in the journey that started in mini-mites many years ago in the local rink, wherever these individuals hail from.

Of the many milestones tracked, games played are an ultimate measure of commitment to the game. Even more special, games played with one organization are a true testament of commitment not just to the game itself, but to the community of which the team belongs to and represents every day.

Swamp Rabbits Captain Ben Freeman, currently in the beginning stages of his fourth season with the organization, hit two such markers showcasing his devotion as a professional and to the Upstate in his last eight games bridging the 2023-24 and 2024-25 campaigns. On April 5^th against Orlando, he logged his 200^th ECHL game, but last Saturday, October 26^th, he played in his 200^th game with the Swamp Rabbits organization, sixth most all-time in team history. Entering tomorrow’s game against the Savannah Ghost Pirates, he is one point shy of 100 in his ECHL career, all earned with the Swamp Rabbits organization.

“I actually had no idea it was my 200^th game with the team on Saturday. Miles Gendron came up to me on Saturday and asked if I was excited, and I said ‘Sure, why wouldn’t I be? We’re about to play a hockey game.’,” Freeman said with a chuckle. “I knew it was coming around based on how long I’ve been here, but it wasn’t on my radar. It was another game I was excited for, especially because of the start of a new season. Nonetheless, it’s a pretty awesome accomplishment and shows how much I love Greenville and this community.”

Freeman’s story of dedication to the game and his community starts following his senior season at UConn, where he captained the Huskies and earned the Len Ceglarski Award as the player best exemplifying sportsmanship in the Hockey East Conference. The goal was to always play professionally when his NCAA career finished, but he ran into one problem in starting that journey: the Covid-19 pandemic happened.

“During my senior season, I was getting told by agents and my coaches that I would be playing in the AHL after my season was over, which was really exciting,” Freeman said of his beginnings. “Those also came with opportunities for full NHL training camps as well, so that was my mindset: I was going to be playing at a high level when I was done at UConn. Between that and looking forward to Hockey East playoffs after a great season for our team, it was an exciting time.

“The pandemic quickly became a weird time for all of us, but specifically for me it was because I wasn’t getting any information from agents or coaches, simply because no one knew what was going to happen,” he said of the unclear times. “I actually ended up signing with the Maine Mariners late in the summer to have a place to go play professionally, but they opted out the 2020-21 ECHL Season, adding even more uncertainty to the future.”

The Mariners were one of 12 teams that elected not to play in the ECHL that season, making all those players free agents for the 14 teams that did compete under the unique circumstances. While working at an L.L. Bean factory and wondering how his hockey career would take shape, Freeman ended up getting a call from Derek Army, Head Coach of the Wheeling Nailers. He signed, and made his professional debut on December 19, 2020, against Orlando, registering four shots on goal. 

With so much talent available to a league that basically slashed itself in half, Freeman was a casualty of the volatile nature of roster movement and construction and was released after seven games with the Nailers. Unsure of what was next, he went back home to Falmouth, Maine, and worked at a local gym, continuing to train and stay ready for the next chance that came. 

Not too long after, that opportunity came in the form of the SPHL’s Pensacola Ice Flyers, who called the 6’5” center and enlisted his services. He made his Ice Flyers debut on March 19^th at Birmingham, notched his first assist six days later at home against Macon, and finished the year with eight points in 15 appearances, ending the season on a four-game point streak. He didn’t stop there: Freeman added another three assists in four playoff games, and helped Pensacola capture their fourth SPHL President’s Cup championship, tied for the most in league history.

Championship or not, Freeman had his mind made up that he wasn’t going to stop playing, and certainly wasn’t going to let anything external deter him.

“When I look back on that year, it was a full 360 turn of events because of Covid,” Freeman reflected. “I love hockey. I wasn’t going to let any one thing or anyone else tell me that I was done with hockey. That needs to come from myself and my friends and family. It can’t be external forces that cause me to stop playing hockey because I love it so much. For many guys, it’s our entire life. Growing up, I had very supportive parents and a great support system around me that allowed me to continue to play and fight through the various adversities that all players go through.”

With the 2020-21 season in the rearview, it was time for the next step. 

As mentioned earlier, players on teams that opted out of the 2020-21 campaign automatically became free agents, so they could sign with any of the other 14 teams. However, once the season concluded, their rights reverted to their original teams, meaning Freeman went back to Maine as a result. 

Despite this, Freeman received a call from the South Division. It was Andrew Lord, Head Coach of the Greenville Swamp Rabbits.

“I remember getting a call from Coach Lord. He introduced himself and said he was really interested in bringing me on,” Freeman recalled. “I told him my rights were with Maine and I was signed, but he explained to me that actually wasn’t the case.”

Even though Ben’s rights went back to the Mariners and they listed him on the Protected List, they didn’t issue one of their eight available qualifying offers to him, meaning he was a free agent. Freeman signed with Greenville following a series of conversations that made it apparent he needed to give the Upstate a chance.

“Lordo made it abundantly clear he wanted me to be here,” Freeman explained. “Through my hockey career of prep school, juniors, showcase teams, and even college, I found that best success I had is when you go to places where they actually want to you. Sure, teams and coaches can *say* they want you, but they don’t show it. He showed me he appreciated my game and truly wanted me to be here, so that’s how he set the hook, so to speak.

“It’s crazy, when I was with Wheeling, we took a trip to South Carolina and played in both Charleston and Greenville. I played against the Stingrays, but not the Swamp Rabbits. However, I spent about 48 hours in Greenville while on the road trip. It was a short amount of time, but I knew right away I loved the south and I loved Greenville especially. It’s funny how things work out.”

Freeman made his Swamp Rabbits debut on October 23, 2021, scoring his first ECHL goal in a 4-2 defeat at South Carolina. He finished the year with 10 goals, 22 assists, and 32 points in 62 contests, finishing seventh on the team in scoring. In the 2022 Kelly Cup Playoffs, Ben shined even brighter: he led the team in scoring with a point-per-game average, earning a pair of goals and six points, recording points in all but two of six playoff games against the Florida Everblades.

“Overall, I loved my first year here. There was some adversity to battle with an injury, and I wasn’t secure in my spot, which got stressful,” Freeman said. “I learned a good deal throughout that period. I also met my now fiancée that season, so it was a great year for me personally and professionally.

“That offseason, I wasn’t getting many opportunities at the AHL level or for future development. I felt comfortable going back to Greenville and knew it was a place I could continue to develop and grow as a player. I felt I had more things to prove as a hockey player in wanting to reach the next level, so I wasn’t ready to leave and decided to come back for the 2022-23 season.”

Freeman continued to bring his patented consistent approach for 2022-23, his second season in Greenville, matching his 32-point total from the previous campaign while extending his career-high in goalscoring to 13. Again, he impressed in the playoffs, going back-to-back postseasons with a point-per-game average, this time scoring four goals in six games against the Jacksonville Icemen. If that wasn’t enough, Freeman was selected as one of the Alternate Captains of the Swamp Rabbits.

“You learn how to score goals in the league, whatever league it is. It’s different than college, much more physical in the ECHL, so you have to adapt to the league and find different ways to score in different positions,” the Captain explained of lessons learned in his second campaign. “You need to figure out how to contribute in whatever position you’re in, so that was my main takeaway from year two. I really stepped it up on the penalty kill and grew into roles that worked for my game and allowed others to trust me with on the ice.

“Regarding my letter, which I felt was a huge honor when he put it on my sweater, Lordo knew that I was committed to wins more so than personal accolades. I think for me that stems from my background of winning in Pensacola,” he continued. “I saw what happens when a *team* wins. All those players from that title team all earned ECHL contracts the next year, so in a selfish but selfless way, if you win games, you get to move on in the development hierarchy of the sport.”

Having established himself as a professional and a leader, Freeman ventured back to the Upstate for a third chapter. Playing in all but two games, he set career-highs again with 14 goals and 34 points, and on January 19, 2024, was named the seventh Captain in Road Warriors/Swamp Rabbits history.

Returning for both his third, and now his fourth season in the Upstate, the reasoning was simple.

“I love Greenville, and I love hockey. It was a no brainer,” he passionately stated. “I still have things I’m trying to prove, and I feel Greenville provides much of that opportunity for me. On top of that, I enjoy the community and the people. They’ve been so great to me, and we have unique and passionate fans that I love playing in front of.

“I can definitely tell from Opening Night this season that the fans are coming out in bunches. I’m sure there are plenty of statistics and metrics that can prove, both with the city and on the hockey side, that the Greenville market is growing,” Freeman expanded. “It’s fun to see. My first year, you’re downtown and people ask what you do and you say you play hockey in Greenville, and they had no clue we had a hockey team. Three or four years later, everyone knows who the Swamp Rabbits are, so it’s been awesome to see the growth of our fan base, the dedication of Spire Sports + Entertainment as our ownership, and our community in recognizing what we do both on the ice and in the community, which I take immense pride in.”

With 200 games in Greenville celebrated and now in the rearview, Freeman has a chance heading into tomorrow night’s showdown against the Savannah Ghost Pirates at a second milestone in as many games: he’s one point away from 100 in his ECHL career, all as a member of the Swamp Rabbits. A goal or assist tomorrow would put him one point away from sharing 13^th all-time with Jordie Johnston, who played for the Road Warriors from 2012 to 2014.

“It would’ve been cool to hit 200 [games] and 100 [points] in the same night last week,” he stated. “Nonetheless, a half-a-point-per-game pace in this league is a pretty good pace for a two-way center like myself. I’m excited to hopefully get it tomorrow, along with an important win for our team.

“When I think back on all of this and what is still to come, I truly feel like I have so much more to prove, and I’m ready to prove it. Playing games at the next level and ideally winning a championship here in Greenville are my primary goals moving forward,” he concluded, “and who knows? A great season here could lead to opportunities of any kind that I didn’t think of before. All said and done, I’m grateful for what Greenville has meant to me personally and professionally, and I can’t wait to see where we go from here.”

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