(SAVANNAH, Ga.) – Neil Shea broke a scoreless deadlock of 28:40 and got help from Wade Murphy into an empty net and Ryan O’Hara late on the power play, but Pierce Charleson stole the show, powering the Greenville Swamp Rabbits with 27 saves, including a “save of the year” candidate, to earn his first career shutout in a 3-0 win over the Savannah Ghost Pirates on Saturday night. The win cuts the deficit between the Swamp Rabbits, now tied for 5^th in the South Division, to six points behind the Ghost Pirates in the final playoff spot with 13 games to go.

Both goalies dueled to a scoreless deadlock through one period of play, with Charleson stopping a dozen Ghost Pirates chances and Vinnie Purpura, in net for the Ghost Pirates, turning aside 10 Swamp Rabbits shots.

Before the deadlock was broken, Charleson came up with arguably the “save of the year” to keep the game without a goal. With 13:16 left in the second, the Ghost Pirates broke in transition with numbers, and the puck carrier deferred to Nick Granowicz streaking down the right. With millimeters to spare, Charleson spun in his crease and snagged the puck out of mid-air, robbing Granowicz of a surefire goal. Less than a minute later, the Swamp Rabbits broke through with Neil Shea’s second as a Swamp Rabbit. With 12:20 remaining, Jake Murray contained the left side of the blue line and zipped a pass to Shea, who rifled a shot from the right circle that beat Purpura’s glove to give the Swamp Rabbits a 1-0 lead. Charleson stopped another eight shots in the second period.

Purpura was pulled from the Ghost Pirates net in the final minutes of the third period, but Wade Murphy won a race into the attacking zone and took advantage of a defender falling, sending the puck into the empty net for a 2-0 Swamp Rabbits lead with 2:13 remaining. With Riley Hughes ejected for unsportsmanlike conduct and the bench assessed an additional minor, the Swamp Rabbits ended the game on the power play, with Ryan O’Hara rifling a one-timer while up two men to bring the game to it’s 3-0 final with 45 seconds left (Keaton Mastrodonato and Parker Berge assisted). Charleson stopped seven more shots to secure his first professional shutout.

Pierce Charleson ultimately stopped 27 shots in the effort, securing his second win head-to-head against Savannah (8-7-3-0).

The Swamp Rabbits conclude their franchise record 11-game road trip with the final game of their “three-in-three” tomorrow against the Jacksonville Icemen. Puck drop at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena is set for 5:00 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.