High Scoring Game Pushes Rabbits to OT
Greenville rallied for six goals but special teams cost the Swamp Rabbits win against Wheeling Nailers
BY: Brian Tosti, Greenville Swamp Rabbits
Greenville, SC – The Greenville Swamp Rabbits proud ECHL affiliate of the New York Rangers and the AHL’s Hartford Wolf Pack, traded shots for the second straight night with the Wheeling Nailers and eventually pushed the contest to overtime. Greenville fought back to take the 6-5 advantage in the third period, but the Nailers tied the game in the final seven minutes of the third period. In overtime, the Nailers scored their seventh to take the win.
The Swamp Rabbits were fueled by four different players recording multi-point efforts including a three-assist affair from Adam Chapie. Greenville once again opened the scoring in the game as Chapie fed the puck to Allan McPherson for a one-timer goal less than two minutes into the game. The goal came on the power play beginning an astronomical night on special teams.
Malte Stromwall extended the Swamp Rabbits lead shortly after earning an assist on McPherson’s tally. His first ECHL goal came a minute after the opening tally, extending the lead on an unassisted breakaway.
The Nailers would not roll over at the sight of a Swamp Rabbits hot start. In the span of five minutes, Wheeling rattled off three straight goals from Hunter Fejes and Garrett Meurs while on the power play. The Nailers goals on the man advantage forced a goaltending change from Ty Rimmer to Brandon Halverson. Rimmer made eight saves before his exit from the game and Halverson came in relief for nearly 52 minutes. The second-year netminder made 38 saves in the contest but suffered the overtime decision.
In the second period, Greenville countered and scored another goal to tie the game. Rookie Brenden Kotyk tallied his first professional goal on a beautiful feed from Chapie. The defenseman found himself all alone in front of goaltender Colin Stevens. The back and forth play continued as Nick Sorkin tallied a goal on the power play, quickly followed by a tying goal from Sergey Zborovskiy. The first pro goal for Russian defenseman tied the game at four on the power play as well.
Greenville ended the game 2-for-5 on the power play while the Nailers propelled their win on special teams, going 5-for-6. In addition to the power plays in the game, Greenville was outshot 53-45 in the contest.
Brandon Troock netted a goal in the third period and quickly added another from Evan Jasper to take the advantage. Fejes netted his fourth goal of the game to tie the game on a quick turnover in the offensive zone. Despite the last effort in the third period from both teams, overtime was needed to decide the game.
Meurs added his second of the night in the extra period to take the win. His four-goal weekend finished off the contest and pushed the Nailers to 2-0 on the season.
Greenville returns to action on Friday night in North Charleston, SC at 7 p.m. for their first game against the South Carolina Stingrays.
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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