LATE RALLY FALLS SHORT FOR THE SWAMP RABBITS

(GREENVILLE, S.C.) – Carter Savoie and Colton Young brought the Greenville Swamp Rabbits within striking distance with 98 seconds to go, but the Reading Royals, bolstered by two power play goals and a shorthanded tally, staved off the rally to win 3-2 on Friday night. Friday’s game marked the start of the second half of the season for the Swamp Rabbits.

The game started frenetically with a high pace between the teams, who had not shared the same sheet of ice for eight years. Eventually, Reading broke through for the first goal late on their first power play, with Tyler Gratton sling shooting himself up the ice. Gratton weaved through everyone and finished past the blocker of Swamp Rabbits net-minder Jacob Ingham to take a 1-0 lead with 2:03 left in the first (Robbie Stucker and Keith Petruzelli assisted). Petruzelli, manning the Royals net, turned aside all nine shots he saw in the first.

Reading went back to their special teams throughout the second, starting in the opening minutes due to another power play drawn from a penalty at the end of the first. Just 96 seconds into the second, Jake Smith fired a puck from the right side that pinballed off a defender and past Ingham, doubling the Reading lead to 2-0 (Sam Sedley and Matt Brown assisted). Moments later, the Swamp Rabbits went back to the power play, but disaster struck when a defenseman fell down at the blue line, springing Mason Primeau for a break away. Primeau beat Ingham in close range, vaulting the Royals to a 3-0 lead. Petruzelli stayed perfect in the second, turning aside 14 Swamp Rabbits shots.

Eventually the Swamp Rabbits went on a late rally in the final six minutes in the hopes of perpetuating the game. With 5:17 left in regulation, Ingham was pulled from the Swamp Rabbits net to give an additional advantage to the one they already had while on their fourth power play of the game. Now 6-on-4, Carter Savoie deflected a Parker Berge shot in front of Petruzelli to break his shutout and get the Swamp Rabbits on the board, trailing 3-1 (Berge and Colton Young assisted). After killing off a penalty, which took a chunk out of their time to come back, Colton Young, once again with the extra attacker, finished a finesse passing sequence with a backdoor tap-in to bring the Swamp Rabbits within one, down 3-2 with 98 seconds left (Savoie and Berge assisted). Petruzelli stood tall in the final moments, staving off a few close calls to hang on for a 3-2 Royals win.

Jacob Ingham turned aside 27 of 30 shots on net in suffering the defeat (6-5-0-1).

The Swamp Rabbits conclude the weekend against Reading with “NASCAR Night”, presented by Arthrex. The annual fan favorite night features appearances from 21 drivers, including three-time NASCAR Cup Series Champion Joey Logano, Kyle Busch, Bubba Wallace, and Spire Motorsports drivers Justin Haley, Michael McDowell, reigning Sunoco Rookie of the Year Carson Hocevar, and Rajah Caruth. Puck drop for the night where the rubber meets the ice is slated for 7:05 p.m. EST at Bon Secours Wellness Arena on Saturday, January 25^th.

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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.