SWAMP RABBITS GAIN POINT ON “MILITARY APPRECIATION WEEKEND” KICKOFF

(GREENVILLE, S.C.) – Kaleb Lawrence rifled off two goals and three points to lead three multi-point performers and Kolby Hay stopped 35 shots in his first professional start for the Greenville Swamp Rabbits, but the Jacksonville Icemen snagged the second point 3:57 into overtime on a red-hot power play to claim a 5-4 win on Saturday night. The game saw 7,555 people come out to salute the troops and kick off “Military Appreciation Weekend”, presented by Budweiser.

The Swamp Rabbits started off out of the gates, but the Icemen countered with a pair to lead after 20 minutes. Kaleb Lawrence started off his three-point night with his first of two goals, burying a rebound from the slot on a Jake Flynn shot that beat Icemen goalie Matt Vernon, putting the Swamp Rabbits up 1-0 at 3:47 of the first (Flynn and Quinn Olson assisted). Jacksonville fired back on their first power play of the game, with Davis Koch unleashing a laser that beat Swamp Rabbits net-minder Kolby Hay over his shoulder, squaring the game at 1-1 at 7:03 (Brendan Harris and Garrett Van Whye assisted). Bennett MacArthur stuck a dagger late in the period, tapping the puck while wide open in the net-front into an open net to give the Icemen a 2-1 lead with 51.6 seconds left (Koch and Harris assisted).

The Swamp Rabbits came out of the gates in the second frame, which featured a tug-of-war flow and ultimately led both teams to a stalemate entering the third. John Parker-Jones kicked off the period with a transition goal, entering with speed from the right and ending with a wrist shot that burned Vernon by his blocker, equalizing the game at 2-2 with 5:40 played (Parker Berge and Ben Freeman assisted). Less than two minutes later, Quinn Olson was left all alone from the blue line in, and beat Vernon in close to re-establish the Swamp Rabbits lead at 3-2 with 7:38 played in the frame (Kaleb Lawrence and Miles Gendron assisted). Jacksonville stormed back exactly four minutes later when Chase Lang deflected an LA Grissom shot that beat Hay up high, once again bringing the game level at 3-3 with 8:22 left in the middle act (Grissom and Ty Cheveldayoff assisted). Lawrence was back at it again with another answer, this time coming on the power play with his final point of three on the night. With 6:07 left in the second, Lawrence deflected a Bryce Brodzinski pass from the low slot through traffic and past Vernon’s glove, vaulting the Swamp Rabbits back on top with a 4-3 lead (Brodzinski and Parker Berge assisted). The Icemen, however, got the last word of the second frame, and eventually regulation, when Brendan Harris’ aggressive forechecking forced a turnover behind the net, leading to a wrap around into an empty net to tie the game at 4-4 with 68 seconds left. 

Both teams couldn’t solve the game in the final period, prompting overtime to determine a winner. The Icemen got the second point with 3:03 left in the extra frame on the power play, with Christopher Brown rifling a one-timer past Hay to end the game, 5-4 for Jacksonville.

Kolby Hay, making his first professional start, stopped 35 of 40 shots in suffering the overtime defeat (0-0-1-0). With the point gained in the overtime loss, the Swamp Rabbits are now on a five-game home point streak, going 2-0-2-1 since January 25^th in Bon Secours Wellness Arena.

The Swamp Rabbits conclude “Military Appreciation Weekend”, presented by Budweiser, with their Postgame Concert Night, presented by Carolina Handling and Busch Light, featuring multi-platinum recording artist Chris Janson. The game against the Atlanta Gladiators, set for Sunday, February 22^nd, has puck drop coming at 3:05 p.m. EST at Bon Secours Wellness Arena.

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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.