(DULUTH, Ga.) – Dante Sheriff tied the game for the Greenville Swamp Rabbits in the early stages of the third period on the power play, but Alex Young secured the game-winner on the second power play for the Atlanta Gladiators in overtime, earning the second point in a 2-1 win on Sunday afternoon. Despite back-to-back overtime losses, the Swamp Rabbits have points collected in three straight games.

Cody Sylvester got the Gladiators on the board in the final seconds of the first period, coming in the third power play of the period for Atlanta. With 14.6 seconds left, Sylvester collected the puck in a scrambly sequence, and rifled a shot from the right circle that beat Swamp Rabbits goaltender Mattias Sholl over his shoulder, giving the Gladiators a 1-0 lead (Louis Boudon and Chad Nychuk assisted). Ethan Haider, tending goal for Atlanta, stopped 12 shots in the first, and an additional six in the second frame.

Both teams failed to score in the second, but penalty trouble befell the Swamp Rabbits in the second, culminating with a five-minute major and game misconduct to captain Josh Atkinson, prompting his removal from the remainder of the contest at 13:57 of the second. Despite the disadvantage, the Swamp Rabbits penalty kill locked down and kept it 1-0 going into the third frame. 

With special teams of their own, the Swamp Rabbits found an answer in the final period. With 3:41 gone by in the third and on the fourth and final power play of the game for the Swamp Rabbits, Dante Sheriff took a pass on the left side and fired a shot that was initially blocked. He immediately picked up his own rebound and rifled a try off the back bar past Haider, squaring the game at 1-1 (Carter Savoie and Tim Lovell assisted). Neither team could break the 1-1 deadlock, prompting overtime for a second night in a row.

Parker Berge was called for a high-sticking minor at 3:50 of the extra period, giving Atlanta a four-on-three advantage. Just 56 seconds into it, Chad Nychuk started a tic-tac-toe passing sequence that ended with Alex Young firing a one-timer past Sholl, winning the game for the Gladiators at 2-1 with 2:16 left in overtime.

Mattias Sholl, starting back-to-back games for the first time this season, suffered the overtime defeat while stopping 36 of 38 shots on net (3-3-2-0).

The Swamp Rabbits return home briefly for a showdown against the Orlando Solar Bears on Friday, December 5^th, with puck drop slated for 7:05 p.m. EST at Bon Secours Wellness Arena. Friday’s game is the first of eight home games in the month and is also “Marvel Super Heroes Night, Honoring Our Local First Responders”, presented by Carolina Handling.

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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.