SWAMP RABBITS FALL SHORT LATE IN WEEKEND FINALE

(JACKSONVILLE, Fla.) – Carter Savoie halved the deficit at the midway point of the first period and the Greenville Swamp Rabbits penalty kill went a perfect 5/5, including 4/4 in the second, but the damage was done early by Olivier Nadeau and Liam Coughlin, who led an early scoring attack to give the Jacksonville Icemen a 3-1 win on Sunday afternoon. The loss puts the Swamp Rabbits to three straight to start their seven-game road swing, and six straight away from home dating back to February 7^th.

Nadeau and Coughlin opened the scoring entries in the opening half of the first frame, allowing the Icemen to leave with a lead. Nadeau made it 1-0 on a net-front redirection of a Cameron Supryka pass from inside the blue line, deflecting it over Swamp Rabbits net-minder Jacob Ingham to put Jacksonville ahead at 4:09 (Supryka and Chris Grando assisted). Liam Coughlin finished a tic-tac-toe passing sequence in transition from Brody Crane and Bennett MacArthur, tapping his pass from Crane back door to double the advantage at 8:28 of the period. Moments later, the Swamp Rabbits found an answer on their first power play of the game. With 7:52 left, Carter Savoie rifled a Bryce Brodzinski pass from the high slot that deflected off of a defender on its way to the net. The puck arced over the back of Icemen goalie Matt Vernon and in, slashing the deficit to 2-1 (Brodzinski and Dru Krebs assisted). 

Those were the only goals for the longest time, with the scoresheet staying that way thanks to the Swamp Rabbits penalty kill and Jacob Ingham’s goaltending. Ingham staved aside all 25 shots he faced in the second period, a season-high for a Swamp Rabbits goaltender, and the penalty kill in front of him staved off four opposing power plays of their five total in the effort. With the Swamp Rabbits trying to tie the game late, they pulled Ingham for the extra skater, but couldn’t muster an equalizer. A blown icing call with 2.2 seconds left allowed the Icemen to officially seal the win on a Chris Grando tap in, bringing the game to its 3-1 final score.

Jacob Ingham started in his second game of the three-game weekend, turning aside 35 of 37 shots in the defeat (8-8-0-1).

The Swamp Rabbits regroup and look towards phase two of their seven-game road trip, beginning on Friday against the Savannah Ghost Pirates. Puck drop at Enmarket Arena is slated for 7:30 p.m. EST on Friday, March 7^th.

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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.