The train keeps rolling with a historic start to the season. Points in five straight games, and a massive challenge lies ahead with another three-in-three featuring two dates with the defending champions.
Here's a look back at Week 2 with today's "Rabbits Recap"!
RECORD: 5gp, 3-0-2-0, 8pts (T-1st South Division)
CURRENT FORM: 3-0-2-0 last 5 games (5-game point streak entering week)
LAST WEEK: 3gp, 2-0-1-0
REGULAR SEASON GAME 3 (Friday, October 23rd vs Jacksonville)
OKTOBERFEST, presented by Arthrex
Greenville Swamp Rabbits 3, Jacksonville Icemen 2 (F/OT)
| TEAM | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | OT | SO | F | SHOTS | PP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| JAX | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | -- | 2 | 32 | 0/2 |
| GVL | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | -- | 3 | 29 | 1/4 |
JAX: Heinke-GTG in 3rd (1st as Pro); Kuzma-G
GVL: Bennett-GWPPG in OT, 2ast; McAllister-G, Ast; Murray-2ast
REGULAR SEASON GAME 4 (Saturday, October 24th @ Greensboro)
Greenville Swamp Rabbits 2, Greensboro Gargoyles 1 (F/OT)
| TEAM | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | OT | SO | F | SHOTS | PP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GVL | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | -- | 2 | 49 | 1/3 |
| GSO | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | -- | 1 | 26 | 0/1 |
GSO: May-G; Velmakin-47sv/49sh (Franchise Record, OTL)
GVL: Supryka-GWG in OT; O'Hara-PPG; Costello-100 Career ECHL Wins
REGULAR SEASON GAME 5 (Sunday, October 25th @ Greensboro)
Greensboro Gargoyles 3, Greenville Swamp Rabbits 2 (F/OT)
| TEAM | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | OT | SO | F | SHOTS | PP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GVL | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -- | 2 | 48 | 1/4 |
| GSO | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | -- | 3 | 35 | 1/3 |
GSO: Freel-GWG in OT (1st Pro G); Cristall-1st Pro G; Khazeyev-46sv/48sh
GVL: Somerville-1st GVL Goal; Gorman-PPG; Flores-32sv/35sh
UPCOMING GAMES
- Friday, October 30th vs Florida Everblades - 7:05pm
- Saturday, October 31st vs Florida Everblades - 2:05pm
- HALLOWEEN
- Sunday, November 1st @ Savannah Ghost Pirates - 3:00pm
SWAMP RABBITS LEADERS
| G | Gorman/Bennett | 3 |
| Ast | Jake Murray | 4 |
| Pts | Brendan Gorman | 3-3=6 |
| Rookie Pts | Brendan Gorman | 3-3=6 |
| D-Man Pts | Jake Murray | 0-4=4 |
| +/- | Cameron Supryka | +5 |
| PIM | O'Reilly/McNelly | 9 |
| PPG | Bennett/O'Hara/Gorman | 1 |
| SHG | N/A | -- |
| W (Goalie) | Owen Flores | 2 |
| Shutouts | N/A | -- |
| GAA | Owen Flores | 1.90 |
| SV% | Owen Flores | .932 |
NOTES AND NUMBERS
WE'LL POINT IT OUT AGAIN: The Swamp Rabbits are celebrating 25 seasons of hockey in Greenville and the Upstate, so of course they start this season out on a streak that's never been accomplished in the 17 seasons of the team. For the first time ever, the Swamp Rabbits have points in each of their first five games, and enter the week in a three-way tie for first place in the South Division. Last season against Florida, the Swamp Rabbits went 2-4-0-0 in six games, splitting four home contests.
WE ARE SO OVER(TIME) THIS: The Swamp Rabbits have now gone past 60 minutes in four consecutive games for just the fifth time ever. The last time the team accomplished the task fo four straight postregulation finishes was back in the 2021-22 campaign from November 26th to December 5th, winning two of them. The team record stands at five straight from January 6th to January 16th in the 2020-21 campaign, and was half of a ridiculous run of NINE games out of 11 from December 26, 2020 to January 30, 2021 that went 60 minutes.
POWER STATION: The Swamp Rabbits power play came to life last weekend, with the team securing man-up goals in all three games against Jacksonville and Greensboro. After starting 0/3 in the first two games, the Swamp Rabbits are 3/11, clocking at 27.2%. BLAKE BENNETT notched his first to win the game in overtime for the Swamp Rabbits on Friday, RYAN O'HARA tied the game up in an eventual overtime win on Saturday, and BRENDAN GORMAN got the scoring entries started in an overtime defeat on Sunday.
THEY SAID IT
"It's pretty easy to put your feet up and enjoy the two points, but I still think we can improve and perform better. Three-in-three this early in the season is not ideal, but 'not ideal' is something we're going to have to get used to in this league."
-Head Coach/GM Chad Costello following back-to-back overtime wins against Jacksonville and Greensboro
"The coaching staff here has been great. Everyone all around has been unbelievable. They've made the transition [to Greenville] very easy for all of us, which has been nice. Because of that, I think we're clicking on the ice faster than we thought. We still have some areas that we can clean up, obviously, but I'm really happy with our results."
-Captain #16 Peter Tischke on the team's start to the season through five games
"Honestly, I was so grateful and so honored to be chosen for this role. We have so many leaders on this team, so I think we're all just going to rely on eachother to pull us where we want to be, which is ultimately giving us a shot at the Kelly Cup.
I've just taken bits and pieces from all the captains I've had, and I've been really fortunate to have some great captains in my day. I tried to hang around the older guys and learn off of them. I'm not a huge vocal captain, but more of lead by example, so I'm just going to do my part and the guys will follow along."
-Tischke on receiving the captaincy and his approach to the role
"Compared to last year, this is a group that has a ton of buy in, all the way from day one of camp. Systems, standing up for one another, all those boxes have been checked. Early in the year, that plus simplicity and that buy-in goes a long way.
Our experience is exciting. There's a lot of ups and downs in the ECHL: lots of long road trips, seven to eight three-in-three's in a row, so being able to keep a room relatively flat and not let it get too high or too low goes a long way as well...having that experience in the room to keep that level mindset is going to be huge over the course of the year."
-#5 Jake Murray on the state of the team and the experience it carries this season
"It's a bit of an unsettling feeling, but we're going to have to get over it if we want to find success again. If we want to stay to the outside and just make pretty plays, we'll be an easy team to play against. If we want to drive the net, get into those greasy, hard areas, we'll be a really great hockey team. This was a bit of a letdown, but maybe that's exactly what we need.
I love our team, and I'll do anything I can to push them over this finish line. Right now, we're playing with these games a bit trying to show how good we are. Let's just compete and win games. We have a big week of practice leading into Florida and Savannah, so I'm looking forward to the next few games."
-Coach Costello on his takeaways from the weekend following an OT loss at Greensboro on Sunday