(GREENVILLE, S.C.) – Brent Pedersen triggered fluffy pandemonium with the “Teddy Bear Goal” for a second straight season, Ryan O’Reilly broke the deadlock with a pair of third period goals, including the game-winner, and Mattias Sholl stopped all but one of 33 shots to lead the Greenville Swamp Rabbits to a 4-1 win over the Greensboro Gargoyles on Saturday night. The game was the team’s annual Teddy Bear Toss, presented by Swamp Rabbit Moving.

Greensboro scored the only goal of the opening frame and entered the dressing room with a narrow lead. Following the expiration of a Swamp Rabbits power play, Artyom Borshyov sprang out of the box and was set on a breakaway by Kenny Johnson. Borshyov, uncontested towards Swamp Rabbits net-minder Mattias Sholl, rifled a shot inside the far post to give the Gargoyles a 1-0 lead with 6:30 left in the first.

From there, it was all Swamp Rabbits, with their scoring run starting with the coveted “Teddy Bear Goal”. Brent Pedersen became the second player to ever notch it twice, and the first to do it in consecutive years at 3:21 of the second when Jack Brackett found him behind the defense and hit him with a pass on a close-quarters break. Pedersen outlasted Ruslan Khazheyev in net for the Gargoyles, and rifled his shot over his outstretched body to tie the game at 1-1 and trigger a shower of bears in Bon Secours Wellness Arena (Brackett and Jake Murray assisted).

Ryan O’Reilly kickstarted the Swamp Rabbits third period with his second multi-goal game of the year, breaking through the deadlock and pushing the team towards the win. His first came with 8:53 left in the game, Jake Murray started a rush up the ice, deferring to John Parker-Jones entering on the left. Parker-Jones’ pass got deflected to a trailing O’Reilly, who five-holed Khazheyev to vault the Swamp Rabbits to a 2-1 lead. O’Reilly potted a second one after he won a faceoff straight back to Tim Lovell, who faked Khazeyev from the slot and slipped the puck to his centerman, burying it for a 3-1 Swamp Rabbits lead with 3:14 remaining in regulation. With Khazheyev pulled for the extra attacker late, Keaton Mastrodonato fired a long distance try into the empty Gargoyles net in the final minute, sealing a 4-1 Swamp Rabbits win.

Mattias Sholl stopped all but one of 33 shots on net, securing the win (4-5-2-0).

The Swamp Rabbits stay on home ice and take on the Cincinnati Cyclones in a one-off showdown on Wednesday, December 17^th. Puck drop at Bon Secours Wellness Arena is slated for 7:05 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.