SWAMP RABBITS SWEEP GLADIATORS IN WILD FINALE

(DULUTH, Ga.) – Austin Saint, Dustin Geregach, Brent Pedersen, and Kyle Haskins all netted three points to lead seven different goal scorers, and Mattias Sholl won his professional debut with 33 saves to power the Greenville Swamp Rabbits to a wild 7-4 win over the Atlanta Gladiators on Saturday night. The win gives the Swamp Rabbits a sweep of their home-and-home weekend set.

Atlanta jumped out to a 2-0 lead early with Alex Young scoring his first as a Gladiator and Nick Wong notching his first as a pro 2:16 apart in the early stages of the game. After Wong’s career marker, Ryan O’Hara earned his first goal as a pro 22 seconds later, pinballing the puck off a net-front defender and past Ethan Haider in Atlanta’s net to halve the deficit to 2-1 with 9:12 left in the first (Jack Brackett and Conner Hutchison assisted). 

Jackson Pierson re-established the Gladiators two-goal advantage 81 seconds into the second period to make it a 3-1 game, but the Swamp Rabbits opened fire with a 5-0 scoring run to overtake the Gladiators. Austin Saint redirected a Kyle Haskins shot from distance at 4:45 (Haskins and Geregach assisted), and was followed by a Jack Brackett blast of a one-timer with 9:20 left to square the game at 3-3 (Geregach assisted, his second of the night).

Brent Pedersen had a three-point third period to keep the onslaught going, starting it with a goal 2:20 into the frame on a backdoor rebound from Austin Saint’s shot to give the Swamp Rabbits their only lead of the game at 4-3 (Saint and Haskins assisted). Exactly 50 seconds later, Ben Poisson rifled a shot from downtown inside the blue line that ricocheted past Haider, expanding the lead to 5-3 at 3:50 (Carter Savoie and Dawson Tritt assisted, the latter earning his first pro point in his debut). Dustin Geregach followed with his first professional goal right down the slot for his third point of the game with 9:18 left in the game, ballooning the lead to 6-3 (Pedersen had the lone assist). Atlanta finally ended the run with Mickey Burns first pro goal with 5:02 left, but was immediately answered 1:12 later by a Kyle Haskins backdoor tap-in with 3:50 left to bring the final to 7-4 for the Swamp Rabbits.

Mattias Sholl won his professional debut for the Swamp Rabbits, stopping 33 of 37 shots in the effort (1-0-0-0).

The Swamp Rabbits now begin four games in five nights with the first of two against the Jacksonville Icemen. Their final showdown in the Upstate this season is Wednesday, April 2^nd, at Bon Secours Wellness Arena, with puck drop slated for 7:05 p.m.

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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.