(SAVANNAH, GA) – Blake Bennett scored twice and added an assist and Hank Crone potted an empty-netter to seal the deal alongside two helpers, but Hampton Slukynsky stopped all but two shots in net to power the Greenville Swamp Rabbits to a 5-2 win over the Savannah Ghost Pirates on Friday night. The win keeps the Swamp Rabbits in first in the South Division with a 6-1-2-0 record through nine games.

The Swamp Rabbits started the game on a 4-0 scoring run, beginning towards the end of the opening frame. With 3:26 to play in the period, Jack Brackett forced a turnover that was collected by Jake Percival inside the blue line that followed with a Percival drop pass to Brackett. Brackett barreled up the middle and rifled a shot that beat Ghost Pirates goaltender Tyler Muszelik under the bar, putting the Swamp Rabbits up 1-0.

Offense came early in the second in the form of Blake Bennett’s first of two in the game. Less than two minutes in, Hudson Schandor led a break up the ice and located Ryan O’Hara cutting in from the right in an odd-man situation. O’Hara deferred cross ice to Bennett, who delayed enough to fake out Muszelik before he shot to bury his team-leading seventh of the year in doubling the lead to 2-0. Cade McNelly then supplied what was eventually the game-winner exactly five minutes later. At 6:57, the puck was lost in the middle of the neutral zone and scooped up by a streaking Neil Shea. Shea dished to Hank Crone, who then found McNelly crashing the net for his first as a Swamp Rabbit, tripling the lead to 3-0. The scoring run’s final tally came with 8:01 to play in the second on the third Swamp Rabbits power play, once again in the form of Bennett, who blasted a bomb of a one-timer from the right to expand the lead to 4-0 (Jake Murray and Hank Crone assisted). Eddie Matsushima finally got the Ghost Pirates on the board with a net-front rebound off a Will Riedell shot, lifting it over Swamp Rabbits net-minder Hampton Slukynsky to make it a 4-1 game entering the final frame.

Savannah got another one back just over three and a half minutes into the third before the Swamp Rabbits put the final nail in the coffin. At 3:38, Nick DeGrazia slammed the puck from point blank range of the net, slipping it past Slukynsky to halve the deficit to 4-2 (Colton Huard and Max Dorrington assisted). With Muszelik pulled late for an extra attacker, Hank Crone took advantage of the empty net, potted the final strike with 72 seconds to play, and helped the Swamp Rabbits walk out with back-to-back wins in Enmarket Arena dating to this past Sunday with a 5-2 victory.

Hampton Slukynsky, making both his Swamp Rabbits and ECHL debut, stopped 30 of 32 shots in the win (1-0-0-0).

The Swamp Rabbits return home for “Star Wars Night”, presented by Dipple Heating, Cooling, Plumbing, Electrical, against the Atlanta Gladiators tomorrow night, November 7^th. Puck drop is slated for 7:05 p.m. EST inside Bon Secours Wellness Arena.

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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.