TOSTI: GREENVILLE IN FORT WAYNE FOR SECOND STRAIGHT NIGHT 

TOSTI: Greenville in Fort Wayne for Second Straight Night

The Swamp Rabbits take the ice against the Komets for the second of three games this weekend.

BY: Brian Tosti, Greenville Swamp Rabbits

RABBITS TAILS
The Greenville Swamp Rabbits (20-30-3-1), proud ECHL affiliate of the New York Rangers and the AHL’s Hartford Wolf Pack, take to the ice at the Allen County War Memorial Coliseum for the second consecutive night, facing the Fort Wayne Komets (36-13-2-1) for the final time this season. The puck drops at 7:30 p.m. against the non-conference opponents in the second game of three for the Swamp Rabbits this weekend. Fort Wayne held serve in the Central Division with a win last night and are second in the Western Conference with 75 points. The Swamp Rabbits ended the night on the wrong end of a 4-1 decision and enter the evening 10 points out of the playoff bubble in the South Division.ECH-A-SKETCH
Swamp Rabbit defenseman Daniel Echeverri recorded his second assist of the season last night to help put Greenville on the board. The rookie signed with the Swamp Rabbits on Feb. 13 and tallied his first ECHL point in his second game in Greenville. The Colombian born skater standing at 5-foot-9 has played parts of the last two seasons with the Macon Mayhem in the SPHL. In 89 career games with Macon, Echeverri earned 20 goals and added 27 assists and was named to the SPHL’s All-Rookie team in 2016-17.

TIPPING POINT
Forward Austin McKay has made a living in front of the net this season deflecting pucks. The rookie forward tallied his ninth goal of the year last night in the first period to answer the Komets opening goal. McKay connected with a shot for the 53rd point of his career, redirecting Daniel Echeverri’s shot into the net. The Toronto, Ontario is two appearances shy of 100 career games and has recorded four points (3G, 1A) in the last five games.

RIDING THE WAVE
Komets forward Trevor Cheek has tallied 10 points (7G, 3A) in his last eight games. The Vancouver, Washington native was reassigned to the Komets from the Tucson Roadrunners on Jan. 21 after posting seven points (2G, 5A) in 16 AHL games. Cheek has played 75 ECHL games for the Komets since turning pro in 2013, earning 72 points (43G, 29A). In addition, the 6-foot-2 forward earned 43 points (15G, 28A) in 185 AHL games with the Roadrunners, San Antonio Rampage, and Lake Erie Monsters.

KOMETS FLYING HIGH IN 2018
The Komets have produced a 10-0-0-1 record in the last 11 games, falling in the shootout on Feb. 11^th to the Quad City due to an ECHL season-high 60 saves from Mallards goaltender C.J. Motte. Fort Wayne has only fallen in regulation once in 17 games since Jan.13th. The Komets have outscored their opponents in this stretch 88-to-47 (+41).

CARROT BITES

• Forward Joe Basaraba and defenseman Chad Duchesne lead the Swamp Rabbits with 53 games played, missing only one contest each.
• Shane Walsh added an assist last night, giving the Swamp Rabbits winger five points (1G, 4A) in the last five games.
• Fort Wayne forward Dennis Kravchenko returned to the lineup last night after missing three games, earning his 11th point (3G, 8A) in six games.
• The Komets are 27-0-0-0 when leading after the second period this season.
• Goaltender Ty Rimmer has faced the fourth most shots in the ECHL (1,132) and is tied for fifth with appearances in 34 games this season.

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