(ORLANDO, Fla.) – Ryan O’Hara stopped the Greenville Swamp Rabbits shutout streak at 160:41 with a third period power play goal, but the Orlando Solar Bears, thanks to 31 saves from Connor Ungar and the goal and assist nights of Aaron Luchuk and Anthony Bardaro, took a 3-1 decision on Tuesday night. The loss is the third straight for the Swamp Rabbits, who are now 1-4-0-0 through five games on their franchise record 11-game road trip.

The Solar Bears weathered the Swamp Rabbits pressure in the first half of the opening period, and eventually found transition offense to carry a lead into the intermission. With 5:35 remaining in the first, a Swamp Rabbits zone entry was thwarted when a pass was negated, allowing for an advancement with numbers. Tyler Kobryn, playing in his 200^th ECHL game, found the puck on a rebound following an Isaiah Saville save, and slipped it past him in the Swamp Rabbits net to give the Solar Bears a 1-0 lead (Dyllan Gill and Alton McDermott assisted, the latter earning his first point in his professional debut). 

Entering the second, the Swamp Rabbits came out swinging, but couldn’t break Connor Ungar’s goal line on the Orlando side. Eventually, transition offense clicked again for the Solar Bears, with Aaron Luchuk burying a rebound off of Anthony Bardaro’s shot to double the lead to 2-0 with 31 seconds remaining in the second (Bardaro and Jarid Lukosevicius assisted). 

Their shutout streak tipping over 160 minutes since March 4^th, the Swamp Rabbits finally broke through at the start of the third, with their power play putting them right back in the fight. Just 41 seconds in, Neil Shea, who collected his 100^th career ECHL point with the helper, took a Hudson Schandor pass and forced the puck to the slot, where Ryan O’Hara tapped it past Ungar to cut the deficit to 2-1. Moments later, however, a backwards pass was turned over under pressure and allowed Anthony Bardaro to skate towards Saville uncontested, finishing with a close range backhand to separate the Solar Bears with a 3-1 lead at 4:15 of the third period (Luchuk had the lone assist). Saville was pulled from the Swamp Rabbits net for the final two-plus minutes of regulation, but the Solar Bears and Ungar kept the door shut to claim their victory.

Isaiah Saville, playing in his seventh consecutive game and making his fifth consecutive start, turned aside 24 of 27 shots in the defeat (8-10-0-1).

The Swamp Rabbits now travel to Jacksonville to take on the Icemen to kick off a “three-in-three” weekend. Puck drop at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena on Friday, March 13^th, is slated for 7:00p.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.