(GREENVILLE, S.C.) – Kenta Isogai’s second of his two-point night forced overtime with 1:58 to play, and Josh Atkinson’s insane assist streak extended to 11 consecutive games, but the Savannah Ghost Pirates survived a 54-shot onslaught to capture the second point up for grabs in overtime by a 4-3 final over the Greenville Swamp Rabbits on Sunday afternoon.

The Ghost Pirates jumped out to an early 2-0 lead, with further hardship inflicted on the Swamp Rabbits towards the end of the first frame. With 5:55 to play, Matt Koopman scooped up a net-front rebound from Liam Walsh and pushed it past Swamp Rabbits net-minder Mattias Sholl, giving the Ghost Pirates a 1-0 lead (Walsh and Tristan Amonte assisted). Moments later, Sholl stopped a breakaway with two magnificent saves, but was injured on the sequence and taken out of the game, prompting Pierce Charleson, who started two of the previous three games in this four-in-five stretch to enter in relief. Shortly after, Bryce Brodzinski went on a breakaway that was initially denied by Charleson, but picked up his own rebound to push Savannah to a 2-0 lead with less than a minute to play in the period (Amonte assisted).

The Swamp Rabbits eventually found some life in the second, halving the deficit over the midway point of the game With 7:57 to go, Hudson Schandor won a faceoff to Tim Lovell, who fired a shot on net that was denied by Ghost Pirates goalie Vinnie Purpura. Schandor picked up the rebound and five-holed Purpura to cut the deficit to 2-1.

Early in the third, Savannah got one back, but the Swamp Rabbits mustered a comeback bid to force extra hockey. Ryan Sullivan deflected a puck shot by Noah Carroll that was stopped by Charleson initially, but Sullivan found his rebound and slotted it home to re-establish Savannah’s two-goal lead at 3-1 with 14:08 left in the game (Carroll and Lopina assisted). Then following a brief bout of four-on-four, the red-hot power play of the Swamp Rabbits took the ice and started the rally. With 8:46 left in the game, Josh Atkinson quarterbacked from the point and found Tim Lovell on the right, who blasted home a one-timer that beat Purpura’s blocker to bring the Swamp Rabbits within striking distance at 3-2 (Atkinson and Kenta Isogai assisted). With the helper, Atkinson extended his assist streak to an eleventh straight game. Isogai, who helped start the rally, helped finish it in the final moments. With 1:58 to play, Dante Sheriff launched a “Hail Mary” to Ryan O’Hara, who went on an uncontested breakaway. O’Hara was denied by Purpura, but Isogai trailed and pocketed the rebound, squaring the game at 3-3 and forcing overtime. 

The Swamp Rabbits had a chance to end it early on a power play, but were thwarted by the Ghost Pirates penalty kill, entering the game ranked #3 in the league. Eventually, the Ghost Pirates got a power play of their own, and it was Riley Hughes who potted a rebound in close range past Charleson to end the game, a 4-3 overtime win for the Ghost Pirates.

Mattias Sholl started the game and stopped all but one of eight shots in 17:13 before he was removed due to injury. Pierce Charleson stopped 21 of 24 shots in 48:12 of relief, suffering his third overtime defeat of the season (5-6-3-0).

The Swamp Rabbits are back in action for another four-in-five set, beginning with a Wednesday morning showdown against the South Carolina Stingrays on the road. Puck drop for Wednesday, February 18^th, is slated for 10:30 a.m. EST at North Charleston Coliseum.

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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.