SWAMP RABBITS FALL IN FINAL ROAD GAME AGAINST STINGRAYS

(NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C.) – Carter Savoie scored near the end of the second period to give the Greenville Swamp Rabbits life, and Pierce Charleson made 32 saves, but the South Carolina Stingrays jumped ahead to a 3-0 lead and an eventual 5-1 win on Friday night.

The Stingrays went up 2-0 after the opening frame. Charlie Combs got the started at 3:22 when the puck was stolen in neutral ice, springing him on a break from the blue line-in, uncontested. He beat Swamp Rabbits net-minder Pierce Charleson to put the Stingrays up 1-0 (Josh Wilkins and Dean Loukus assisted). Towards the end of the period, John Parker-Jones created numerous chances to tie the game, but Seth Eisele, manning the Stingrays net, kept them all out. His saves eventually forced the puck up ice put Micah Miller in position to double the lead, which he did in an instant with a close range hack to make it 2-0 with 3:22 to go in the first (Charlie Combs and Eisele assisted).

Dean Loukus tripled the lead before the Swamp Rabbits got on the board with some late momentum. At 5:51, Loukus rotated to the blue line, kept the zone, and walked into the slot with no pressure, rifling a shot off the cross bar and in to make it 3-0 Stingrays (Erik Middendorf and Jacob Graves assisted). Carter Savoie notched the only Swamp Rabbits goal late in the period, finishing a rebound created on a transition play with Tate Singleton and Conner Hutchison, cutting the deficit to 3-1 with 3:37 left in the second (Hutchison earned his first professional point with the helper).

The game stayed 3-1 for the longest time until the final two minutes of the period. South Carolina added its fourth with Charleson out of his net for the extra attacker when Miller collected a neutral zone pass and buried a long range try into the empty net, expanding the lead to 4-1 with 1:46 to play (Justin Nachbaur and Connor Moore assisted). Tyler Weiss ended the scoring entries with 1:14 left, firing a one-timer off an Austin Magera pass from the slot to bring the game to its final of 5-1.

Pierce Charleson stopped 32 of 36 shots in the defeat, his third start in the last four games (0-2-1-0).

The Swamp Rabbits come back home to take on the Savannah Ghost Pirates for “International Day”, presented by VGo Market, on Sunday, March 23^rd. Puck drop for the Sunday matinee is slated for 3:05 p.m. EST at Bon Secours Wellness Arena.

###

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.