ATLANTA WINS LATE DESPITE STRONG POWER PLAY

(DULUTH, Ga.) – Dominiks Marcinkevics potted his own rebound with 1:54 left in regulation, lifting the Atlanta Gladiators to a 4-2 win while erasing a 2/3 power play performance of the Greenville Swamp Rabbits on Thursday night. The Swamp Rabbits end their seven-game road swing with a 3-4-0-0 record heading into three games at home this weekend. 

Bryce Brodzinski and the Swamp Rabbits red-hot power play opened up the scoring entries, providing the only goal of the first 20 minutes. With 9:07 to go in the first, Brodzinski buried a cross-ice feed from John Parker-Jones from the right side past Gladiators goalie Drew DeRidder, capitalizing just 19 seconds into the man-advantage to give the Swamp Rabbits a 1-0 lead (Parker-Jones and Quinn Olson assisted). Swamp Rabbits net-minder Dryden McKay was busy in the first, stopping all 14 shots he saw.

The Gladiators countered to tie the game, but the Swamp Rabbits power play didn’t let up in returning fire to retake the lead heading into the break. Connor Galloway evened the score at 3:35 of the second, firing a shot down the middle that McKay denied. The denial provided a rebound to Galloway, who buried it to square the game at 1-1 (Jeremy Hanzel and Chad Nychuk assisted). Over five minutes later, the Swamp Rabbits went back to the power play once again had Brodzinski to save the day. With 8:37 played in the second, Brodzinski potted a rebound off of a net-front chance from John Parker-Jones, linking once again while man-up to put the Swamp Rabbits back in the driver’s seat with a 2-1 lead (Parker-Jones and Stuart Rolofs assisted).

Atlanta eventually found life in the latter half of the third, and ultimately rode it to the win. With 7:48 left in the game, Michael Marchesan fled down the left side of neutral ice, gained the blue line, and zipped a wrist shot past McKay under his far-side glove, tying the game at 2-2 (Anthony Firriolo had the lone assist). Dominiks Marcinkevics gave Atlanta their only lead of the game with 1:54 remaining in regulation when he took the puck from the right corner by himself and powered to the slot. His initial shot was negated, but he pushed his rebound past McKay to give the Gladiators a 3-2 advantage. Dylan Carabia sealed the game with an empty net tally with 46.3 seconds remaining, ending with a 4-2 Atlanta win.

Dryden McKay turned aside 33 of 36 shots in the defeat (11-17-3-1). McKay has now started four in a row for the Swamp Rabbits, and also got the start in six of the last seven road games in this stretch since January 29^th at Cincinnati.

The Swamp Rabbits now come back home for a “three-in-three”, beginning with Saturday night against the Savannah Ghost Pirates. Puck drop on February 15^th is slated for 7:05 p.m. EST at Bon Secours Wellness Arena. Saturday’s game is “Stick It To Cancer Night”, presented by Bon Secours, a night that recognizes those who have fought and those fighting this insidious disease. Specialty lavender jerseys will be worn and auctioned off postgame with proceeds benefitting the Bon Secours St. Francis Foundation.

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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.