Greenville Opens Season At Home Tonight Against Wheeling
Swamp Rabbits home opener kicks off the 8th season in The Upstate vs. Nailers
| DATE | TIME | OPPONENT | FOLLOW |
| Fri, Oct. 13 | 7:00 p.m. (ET) | vs. Wheeling Nailers | Listen – Watch – Twitter |
BY: Brian Tosti, Greenville Swamp Rabbits
RABBIT TALES
The Greenville Swamp Rabbits proud ECHL affiliate of the New York Rangers and the AHL’s Hartford Wolf Pack, have been off the ice for five months and 19 days since the 2017 Kelly Cup Playoffs and are more than ready to open the 2017-18 regular season. The Swamp Rabbits and Wheeling Nailers drop the puck at 7 p.m. tonight at the Bon Secours Wellness Arena, opening the franchise’s eighth season in Greenville. Before the game, check out the Swamp Rabbits Fan Fest on the Furman Plaza beginning at 5:30 p.m. The celebration includes the Dew Street Hockey Zone, inflatables, concessions specials, music, and more! Be one of the first 750 fans in the building and receive a Swamp Rabbits hand clapper to help make some noise as the season begins. Head to SwampRabbits.com or the Bon Secours Wellness Arena for $10 tickets to tonight’s game.
WRITING ON THE WALL
The Swamp Rabbits have a storied history against Wheeling, meeting 24 times in eight seasons. Greenville has owned the head to head record, winning 15 contests against their northern opponent. Last season, Greenville won a pair of close games at WesBanco Arena in Wheeling, WV including an overtime victory powered by defenseman Joe Houk. The Swamp Rabbits top scoring blueliner netted the overtime winner and added an assist in the contest to earn the first star of the game. The following night he added an assist to help Greenville earn a 5-3 victory. Captain Bretton Cameron netted two goals in the second game against Wheeling and Adam Chapie contributed a pair of assists in the same contest.
NEW RABBITS IN THE SWAMP
Greenville’s roster features 14 new players. Six of the Swamp Rabbits offseason additions enter their first professional hockey season, while the remaining eight skaters combine for 615 AHL games and 540 ECHL games of experience. Amid the vast experience on the Swamp Rabbits roster, only Bretton Cameron and Curt Gogol qualify as veterans this season.
HOME SWEET HOME
Last season, the Swamp Rabbits made a powerful push into the playoffs, thanks in part to a great record at the Bon Secours Wellness. Greenville ended the regular season with a 22-10-3-1 record on the Sandlapper Securities Rink and powered through the final 17 home games with a 14-2-1-0 record.
CAN IT BE PERFECT AGAIN?
Last season the Swamp Rabbits were perfect against the North Division, earning seven wins in conference play against Wheeling, Manchester, and Reading. This season, the Swamp Rabbits are scheduled to play the North Division 10 times w/games against Wheeling (2), Adirondack (1), Manchester (5), & Brampton (2).
CARROT BITES
- The last time Greenville began the regular season at home was October 14, 2011, facing the Wheeling Nailers at the Bon Secours Wellness Arena.
- Four Swamp Rabbits players are expected to make their professional debut’s tonight (Kotyk, Leedahl, Sweeney, and Zborovskiy).
- Five Swamp Rabbits players were selected in the NHL Draft from 2010 to 2015 (Halverson, Basaraba, Herbert, Troock, and Zborovskiy).
- Greenville has won five of its seven home openers in franchise history.
- Branden Troock is four games away from his 150th professional contest, Allan McPherson is five games away from playing his 200th professional contest.
OPENING WEEKEND: Greenville begins the season TONIGHT at the Bon Secours Wellness Arena against the Wheeling Nailers. Tickets are specially priced at just $10 for this game and can be purchased by clicking here. The puck drops for the Swamp Rabbits’ Opening Weekend at 7 p.m. Join the pregame Fan Fest at 5:30 p.m. for the Dew Street Hockey Zone, inflatables, concessions specials, music, and more! The Bon Secours Family Fun Pack is also available for this game and includes tickets, food, beverages and a souvenir for just $60! For more information, head to SwampRabbits.com.
CLEAR BAG POLICY: Beginning with the Swamp Rabbits home opener on October 13th, the Bon Secours Wellness Arena will be implementing a clear bag policy for all events. Each ticketed guest will be permitted to carry one large clear bag, either a Ziploc style bag or a 12”x6”x12” clear bag, plus a small clutch purse (4.5”x6.5”). For more information on the policy, click here.
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