ROAD TRIP STARTS WITH DEFEAT AT CINCINNATI

(CINCINNATI, Ohio) – Carter Savoie hit paydirt in the first two minutes to give the Greenville Swamp Rabbits a 1-0 lead, but the Cincinnati Cyclones, led by the two-point nights of Mathieu Gosselin and Marko Sickic, scored four unanswered goals to claim a 4-1 win on Wednesday night. The game began a seven-game road trip over the next three weeks for the Swamp Rabbits.

Both teams left the opening frame deadlocked at 1-1. Carter Savoie wasted no time getting on the Swamp Rabbits on the board, scoring 73 seconds in on a turnover created inside the attacking blue line by Tate Singleton. Singleton found Savoie on the right, and rifled a shot past Cincinnati goalie Pavel Cajan to put Greenville up 1-0. Moments later, the Cyclones used their transition game to spark offense, tying the game at 4:02 when Mathieu Gosselin broke through in the Swamp Rabbits zone on the left. Eventually, Marko Sickic was open on the backdoor, tapping in a Ryan McCleary pass behind Swamp Rabbits net-minder Dryden McKay to square the game at 1-1.

The Swamp Rabbits dominated most of the second frame, but eventually found a go ahead strike. With 4:13 left in the second, Josh Burnside took the puck from in front of the bench area and broke in-zone on a two-on-one with Lincoln Griffin. Burnside found Griffin for a shot that caromed off of McKay and in, putting Cincinnati in the drivers seat with a 2-1 lead (Burnside and Tristan Ashbrook assisted).

The Cyclones added more insurance and eventually pulled away in the third, going back to transition to generate their offense. Just 3:21 into the final period, Sickic found Gosselin streaking into the Swamp Rabbits zone on the left side with speed. Gosselin rifled a shot that fluttered off the glove of McKay and in, doubling the Cincinnati advantage to 3-1. Remy Parker added insurance with the empty net tally with 29 seconds remaining to bring the game to its final of 4-1 for the Cyclones.

Dryden McKay turned aside 30 of 33 shots on net in suffering the defeat (9-14-3-1).

The Swamp Rabbits continue their three-week seven-game road trip, heading out to take on the Indy Fuel this weekend. Puck drop for the first of two at Fishers Event Center is slated for 7:00 p.m. EST on Friday, January 31^st.

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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.