SWAMP RABBITS DROP BACK-AND-FORTH AFFAIR WITH RIVALS

(GREENVILLE, S.C.) – Stepan Timofeyev tied the game in the early stages of the third period, bur Ryan Hofer and the South Carolina Stingrays found a go-ahead strike shortly after to squeak by the Greenville Swamp Rabbits with a 3-2 win on Sunday afternoon. The game ended a four-game in five-night stretch for the Swamp Rabbits.

Both teams skated to a scoreless draw after 20 minutes of play, with the Swamp Rabbits outshooting the Stingrays 10-9. South Carolina broke through on their first power play of the game early on in the second period. At 4:40, Mattias Sholl, in net for the Swamp Rabbits, appeared to have the puck covered but it was poked out of his grasp and to Tyler Weiss, who was wide open to backhand it in and give the Stingrays a 1-0 lead (Lynden Breen and Kyler Kupka assisted). Almost 10 minutes later, however, Tim Rego earned his first professional point with an assist when he started a counter striking breakout, leading Kyle Haskins to barrel into the Stingrays zone. His backhand attempt on net was denied by Seth Eisele, but Austin Saint tapped the loose change behind him to square the game at 1-1 with 5:29 left in the second. Shortly after, the Stingrays reclaimed the lead when Alexander Suzdalev deflected a Romain Rodzinski shot from the slot area past Sholl, pushing South Carolina to a 2-1 lead with 2:06 left in the second (Rodzinski and Reilly Webb assisted).

The Swamp Rabbits leveled the game just shy of the midway point in the third, but South Carolina found a way to creep ahead once more to take the win. With 6:06 gone by in the third, Rego located Stepan Timofeyev inside the point, with the latter fluttering a shot from distance that whizzed by a frozen Eisele, tying the game at 2-2 (Rego and Carter Savoie assisted). Once again, South Carolina had an answer, which came in the form of Ryan Hofer. With 10:58 left in the game, Hofer capitalized on a loose puck in the slot and rifled a shot over Sholl’s shoulder, putting the Stingrays in the lead for the last time at 3-2 (Reilly Webb and Erik Middendorf assisted). The Swamp Rabbits had chances late, including a power play that turned to a six-on-four advantage with Sholl pulled for the extra skater, but the Stingrays held on for the win.

Mattias Sholl stopped 36 of 39 shots on net in suffering the defeat (1-2-0-0).

The Swamp Rabbits play their final road game on Friday, April 11^th, against the Orlando Solar Bears. Puck drop at the Kia Center is slated for 7:00 p.m. EST.

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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.