(NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C.) – Hudson Schandor scored his first professional goal, and Keaton Mastrodonato scored twice, including the game-tying strike with 7.3 seconds remaining, but the South Carolina Stingrays picked up the second point with Romain Rodzinski’s overtime winner 55 seconds in as part of a 4-3 win on Friday night.

Both teams dueled to a 1-1 deadlock in the opening frame, with both goals coming in the opening minutes. Just 1:50 into the contest, Patrick Guzzo collected a sneaky behind-the-net pass from Ben Hawerchuk in the slot and fired it home past Swamp Rabbits net-minder Pierce Charleson, giving the Stingrays an early 1-0 lead (Hawerchuk and Zac Funk assisted). Moments later in the midst of four-on-four hockey due to overlapping minors, the Swamp Rabbits tied things up. Exactly 90 seconds later, Carter Savoie poked the puck up the wall and it bounced to Josh Atkinson, who fired a “Hail Mary” to Keaton Mastrodonato shy of the Stingrays blue line. Mastrodonato went in uncontested on Taylor and rifled a shot off the post and in to square the game at 1-1 with 3:20 gone by in the first.

The Stingrays used special teams to gain a lead in the middle frame. Ben Hawerchuk earned his second point of the game with 8:27 left in the second, banking home a net-front rebound on a scrambly sequence, giving the lead back to South Carolina at 2-1 (Charlie Combs and Lynden Breen assisted). 

Fireworks ended regulation with barbs traded between both teams, with regulation not being enough time to find a winner. The Swamp Rabbits found a tying strike on the first professional goal of Hudson Schandor in the latter half of the period. With 7:59 remaining, Cam Hausinger rotated the puck down to Ryan O’Hara behind the net, who then lofted it down the slot. Schandor skated into the puck and, from his knees, sent it over Taylor’s shoulder to square the game at 2-2. A wild final minute brought us to the finish line of regulation, with South Carolina pulling away late. Ryan O’Hara was called for a hooking minor to put the Stingrays on the power play, which they capitalized on with 21 seconds remaining thanks to a wrist shot from Josh Wilkins on the right side, giving the Stingrays a 3-2 lead (Kyler Kupka and Zac Funk assisted). In the final seconds, the Stingrays gave the Swamp Rabbits an offensive zone draw due to an icing, and Charleson was pulled from his net to give the Swamp Rabbits a six-on-five advantage. With 7.3 seconds left, Cam Hausinger won the draw back, with Josh Atkinson firing a cross-ice pass to Parker Berge for a shot. Berge’s attempt was denied, but Keaton Mastrodonato pocketed the rebound to tie the game at 3-3 and sent it to overtime.

South Carolina ended it rather quickly in overtime, with Romain Rodzinski firing home a one-timer on a two-on-one caused on a turnover with Kyler Kupka 55 seconds in to seal the second point for the Stingrays in a 4-3 win.

Pierce Charleson stopped 19 of 23 shots in the overtime defeat (3-2-1-0).           

The Swamp Rabbits head back home tomorrow, December 13^th, for their second and final meeting against the Greensboro Gargoyles at Bon Secours Wellness Arena, with puck drop set for 7:05 p.m. EST. Tomorrow’s game is the annual “Teddy Bear Toss”, presented by Swamp Rabbit Moving, featuring a scarf giveaway to the first 1,000 fans and a specialty jersey that will be auctioned off postgame, with proceeds benefitting Greenville Together.

###

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.