SWAMP RABBITS EARN POINT ON “NASCAR NIGHT”

(GREENVILLE, S.C.) – Casey Dornbach scored his first goal as a Swamp Rabbit and John Parker-Jones gave the team a power play goal for a fourth straight game and sixth in the last seven, but the Reading Royals countered and eventually beat the Greenville Swamp Rabbits in a shootout by a 3-2 score on “NASCAR Night”, presented by Arthrex.

Both teams traded blows in the opening frame, eventually ending with the Swamp Rabbits carrying a lead into the dressing room. With 9:28 gone by in the first, the Swamp Rabbits created an opportunity while forechecking that left Casey Dornbach wide open in the slot. Dornbach fired his shot off the bar and past Reading goalie Keith Petruzelli to give the Swamp Rabbits a 1-0 lead with his first as a member of the team (John Parker-Jones and Tate Singleton assisted). Exactly 76 seconds later, however, Mason Primeau found himself open in the slot all alone, rifling a shot over the shoulder of Swamp Rabbits net-minder Dryden McKay to square the game at 1-1 (Matt Brown and MacKenzie Dwyer assisted). Following a brief penalty kill and bout of four-on-four hockey later, the Swamp Rabbits went to their first power play, and kept the heat up on their man-up play. With 4:04 left in the first, Bryce Brodzinski rifled a shot from inside the blue line that deflected off the 6’7” frame of John Parker-Jones and past Petruzelli, giving the Swamp Rabbits a 2-1 lead entering the intermission (Brodzinski and Tyson Fawcett assisted). 

Reading found an equalizer on their power play at the midway point of the second to bring the game level once again. With 10:32 left in the frame, Sam Sedley walked in off the blue line to the high slot and snapped a shot through traffic past McKay to square the game at 2-2 (Mason Primeau and Matt Brown assisted).

Both teams couldn’t solve each other in the remaining 30:32 of regulation, which necessitated overtime. The Swamp Rabbits earned a power play late in the period of free hockey, but couldn’t crack Petruzelli, prompting a shootout to determine the winner. Colton Young was stopped in the top of the first round and answered by Jake Smith outlasting McKay to give Reading the early lead. After Carter Savoie went off the crossbar, the game was on the stick of Matt Brown, who snuck the puck past McKay to give Reading the second point and a 3-2 win.

Dryden McKay stopped 25 of 27 shots in suffering the shootout defeat (9-13-3-1).

The Swamp Rabbits now embark on a three-week seven-game road trip, beginning next Wednesday against the Cincinnati Cyclones. Puck drop at Heritage Bank Center is slated for 7:35 p.m. EST.

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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.