Back-and-forth-affair ends in the extra session as Greenville nabs a point
BY: Jordan Kuhns, Greenville Swamp Rabbits
GREENVILLE, S.C. — The Greenville Swamp Rabbits jumped out to an early lead, fought to take a lead in the third period, and picked up a point in the extra session, but the red-hot Wheeling Nailers came to town and spoiled the party. Wheeling forward Nick Saracino scored the game-winning goal 2:42 into overtime to give the Nailers a 5-4 win at the Bon Secours Wellness Arena on Sunday afternoon.
Saracino and Troy Josephs completed a dizzying passing play in the offensive zone that saw Saracino break free of the traffic. He sliced down the slot and his initial bid was stopped by Garrett Bartus, but the rebound poked right out to him, and his second chance opportunity did not miss.
The Swamp Rabbits held a 4-3 lead in the third period after heading into the final frame of regulation trailing. Thomas Ebbing drove wide on the right wing and his shot pinballed past John Muse to tie the game at three just 59 seconds into the third, and Jordan Sims connected on a brilliant pass from Chris Izmirlian from below the goal line to give Greenville its second lead of the day.
Wheeling used a red-hot power play to tie the score. With Kevin Miller in the box for high sticking, Michael Phillips slipped a shot from the top of the left circle through traffic and into the goal to tie the game at four apiece.
The Nailers also utilized a strong second period to give themselves a lead after trailing 2-0 heading into the midpoint of the game. Troy Josephs scored twice, including a spectacular between-the-legs goal, both on the power play, to follow up Alex Rauter’s marker, to give Wheeling a 3-2 advantage.
The Nailers’ power play went 3-for-4 on the afternoon.
Greenville had the momentum out of the first period, with two goals of their own on 11 shots on goal. On a stretch feed from Sims, Michael Pelech found himself ahead of the field and pitched a backhander top shelf on the far side to open the scoring at the 8:32 mark of the first period.
Miller followed it up with some trickery of his own. He slid from coast to coast, forced the defense to back up, and fired a pinpoint shot into the goal for his second of the season, and the second goal in as many games to give the Swamp Rabbits a 2-0 advantage with just under a minute to go in the first.
The Swamp Rabbits picked up three out of a possible six points on the three-game homestand and scored 15 goals in the process.
The Greenville Swamp Rabbits head to the road next with a game in Atlanta on Wednesday, November 21. Catch all of the action on the Swamp Rabbits Broadcast Network, or on the ECHL’s dedicated streaming video provider, ECHL.TV.
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