(WEST VALLEY CITY, Utah) – Josh Atkinson scored and assisted twice, John Parker-Jones notched the game-winner and empty-netter, and Keaton Mastrodonato fired home a power play goal to power the Greenville Swamp Rabbits to a 6-3 win over the Utah Grizzlies on Saturday night. The win gives the Swamp Rabbits four straight, and a sweep of their three-game set at Utah.

The Swamp Rabbits carried the pace through the opening 20 minutes, leading 2-0 heading into the dressing room. Josh Atkinson and Dante Sheriff fired near-identical shots from the left side of the attacking zone, both slipping inside the far post and under the leg of Utah goalie Dominic Basse at 5:59 and 13:53. Hudson Schandor picked up assists on both goals, and Mattias Sholl, manning the Swamp Rabbits net, only saw four Utah shots, all stifled aside.

The Grizzlies pushed back in the second period, but the Swamp Rabbits still held serve entering the final frame. Shawn Kennedy potted a rebound off of Sholl for his first professional marker to cut the deficit to 2-1 at 8:55 of the second, but was quickly answered by Atkinson’s second tally, a snipe from the right side of the zone that beat Basse to make it 3-1 at 13:36. Reed Lebster found the final word of the second, walking down the middle lane and finishing over Sholl’s glove to slash the Swamp Rabbits lead to 3-2 with 20 minutes to go..

Utah found an equalizer halfway through the frame, but the Swamp Rabbits stomped out any hope of a comeback within seconds to cruise to the win. Henri Schreifels fired home his first professional goal with 10 minutes left in regulation, slinging a shot through traffic from the right slot square the game at 3-3. However, 21 seconds later, John Parker-Jones caught a piece of a Jake Murray blue line shot, deflecting it by Basse to put the Swamp Rabbits back on top at 4-3 with 9:39 remaining in the game. Moments later, Keaton Mastrodonato found breathing room for the Swamp Rabbits when he capitalized on the final Swamp Rabbits power play of the game, uncorking a laser down the middle past Basse to push the lead to 5-3 with 6:24 left in regulation. After serving stacked minors late in the game, and with Basse pulled for Utah to utilize the extra-attacker, Parker-Jones came storming out of the penalty box, and buried an empty-net strike with 76 seconds remaining, bringing the game to its 6-3 final while securing a sweep for the Swamp Rabbits.

Mattias Sholl turned aside 28 of 31 shots in earning his team-leading seventh win of the season (7-7-2-0).

The Swamp Rabbits now transition their road trip to Boise, awaiting the start of a three-game series with the Idaho Steelheads. Puck drop at Idaho Central Arena is slated for 9:10 p.m. EST for the series opener on Wednesday, February 4^th.

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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.