SWAMP RABBITS CLAW BACK TO EARN POINT IN SHOOTOUT

(GREENVILLE, S.C.) – John Parker-Jones scored in his Greenville Swamp Rabbits debut to tie the game with 1:45 left in the third, but the Orlando Solar Bears scored in all three shootout rounds and rode the lightning of an Aaron Luchuk hat trick to earn the second point with a 4-3 win on Friday night.

Orlando immediately jumped out to a lead and rode it to a 2-0 advantage after 20 minutes. Just eight seconds into the contest, Aaron Luchuk darted into the Swamp Rabbits zone on the left side and fired a shot past the glove of Swamp Rabbits net-minder Jacob Ingham to instantly put the Solar Bears up 1-0 (Jack Adams and Spencer Kersten assisted). Luchuk added a second marker with 4:59 left in the first, finishing a tic-tac-toe passing sequence from the right side of the net to double the Orlando lead to 2-0 after one (Adams and Hudson Thornton assisted).

The Swamp Rabbits returned fire in the second period, deadlocking the game going into the final stanza. Just 1:45 into the second and on the Swamp Rabbits first power play of the game, Bryce Brodzinski uncorked a laser of a snipe over the shoulder of Michael Simpson in net for Orlando, halving the deficit to 2-1 (Patrick Moynihan and Brent Pedersen assisted). Towards the end of the period, controversy arose when Ben Poisson seemingly scored his first professional goal on a net-front redirect, but despite being called a goal on the ice with no evidence to overturn, the goal was disallowed. The puck didn’t lie, however: Tyson Fawcett, a mere seconds later, potted a loose puck past a sprawled out Simpson to deadlock the game at 2-2 (Pedersen and Austin Saint assisted).

Aaron Luchuk completed his hat trick to push Orlando ahead in the final five minutes of regulation. With 4:47 left, Luchuk received a pass from behind the net and slipped the puck from the slot area past Ingham to put the Solar Bears on top with a 3-2 lead (Adams had the assist). Down, but not out, the Swamp Rabbits pulled Ingham for the extra attacker, and the gamble paid off. With 1:45 left in the game, Quinn Olson hit Parker Berge inside the blue line, with the latter firing a shot towards a high traffic area. John Parker-Jones, making his Swamp Rabbits and season debut, redirected the shot past Simpson to force overtime.

Both teams traded punches in an electric seven minutes of overtime, but neither could solve the other and a shootout followed. Aaron Luchuk and Colton Young traded scores in round one, and Jack Adams and Patrick Moynihan followed suit in round two. Spencer Kersten whipped the puck past Ingham to put the game on the Swamp Rabbits final shooter, Bryce Brodzinski, but Simpson stopped him with a leg pad to lead Orlando to the second point and a 4-3 win.

Jacob Ingham, playing in his return from the AHL’s Ontario Reign, stopped 33 of 36 shots in regulation and overtime, but went 0/3 in the shootout (2-1-0-1).

The Swamp Rabbits continue their “three-in-three”, shifting gears to the Atlanta Gladiators for a home-and-home pair of games. Puck drop tomorrow night at Bon Secours Wellness Arena is slated for 7:05 p.m. EST and followed with a 3:00 p.m. EST weekend finale on Sunday, December 8^th, at Gas South Arena.

###

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.