Offense comes alive at home as Greenville heads to the road
BY: Jordan Kuhns, Greenville Swamp Rabbits
GREENVILLE, SC – A busy week of four games in six days concluded with the Greenville Swamp Rabbits picking up three standings points and leapfrogging the Atlanta Gladiators in the South Division standings.
The Cincinnati Cyclones caught the Swamp Rabbits at the end of a grueling road trip and posted nine goals on 25 shots on goal. The Cyclones went 2-for-4 on the power play and picked up a big win over Greenville during a morning tussle.
The Swamp Rabbits returned home and the offense caught fire. Greenville scored 15 goals over the course of the next three games and scored at will in an 8-2 drubbing of the Norfolk Admirals. Everything that did not go the team’s way in Cincinnati went their way in this one. The team went 3-for-4 on the power play, went a perfect 7-for-7 on the penalty kill, and raced out to a 5-0 lead before closing out the game with three unanswered tallies to complete an entertaining victory.
Greenville started the next two games with multi-goal leads but was unable to hold on to those leads against two tough opponents. The division-leading Jacksonville Icemen rallied from three goals down, all scored in the first period and posted four unanswered goals. Cam Maclise scored early in the third period for the Icemen, and the team shut it down the rest of the way to complete the 4-3 win over Greenville.
Wheeling came to Greenville after winning two key games against South Division opponents and looked to complete a South Division sweep. The Swamp Rabbits looked on track to stop them in their tracks, taking a 2-0 and 4-3 lead. However, the Nailers used a 3-for-4 performance on the power play goal, and some overtime magic, to defeat the Swamp Rabbits 5-4 on Sunday afternoon.
Now, the Swamp Rabbits head to the road looking to keep the offense rolling, but secure the defensive zone and continue to develop as a group.
11/13 @ Cincinnati — L 9-0
11/15 vs. Norfolk — W 8-2
11/17 vs. Jacksonville — L 4-3
11/18 vs. Wheeling — OTL 5-4
PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Jordan Sims – 4 GP | 1 G – 5 A – 6 P
After a five-game point drought, Jordan Sims caught fire at home. During the three-game homestand, Sims scored a goal and added five assists to up his point total to 3 goals and 8 assists for the season. His best work came in Greenville’s big 8-2 win over Norfolk, where he posted three assists and was a +1. Sims worked on a line with Chris Izmirlian (3 assists) and Thomas Ebbing (2 goals, 1 assist) all week, and don’t look like they will be split up anytime soon.
RABBIT TAILS
- Swamp Rabbits defenseman Chad Duchesne continued to climb up the organizational record books, as his 126 games played with the Swamp Rabbits ranks 15th all-time. He passed Sean Escobedo and Wes Cunningham over the past week.
- Johno May continues to be a power play threat. His five power play goals rank him tied for the most in the ECHL. May also ranks tops in rookie goal scoring (9 goals) and tied for fifth in rookie point scoring (14 points).
- Defenseman Jake Bolton continues to crank the blast from the point. His five goals rank tied for second-most in the ECHL, his three power play goals are tied for the top spot in the league as well.
- Goaltender Garrett Bartus has taken the lead in minutes played (872) and saves made (439). He won his 55th ECHL game on Thursday evening against the Norfolk Admirals.
UPCOMING GAMES
- Wednesday, November 21 | @ Atlanta Gladiators | 7:35 p.m.
- Friday, November 23 | @ Jacksonville Icemen | 7:30 p.m.
- Saturday, November 24 | @ Jacksonville Icemen | 7:00 p.m.
SOUTH DIVISION STANDINGS
- Jacksonville Icemen (10-5-0-0) – 20 pts
- Norfolk Admirals (9-5-1-0) – 19 pts
- Orlando Solar Bears (8-5-2-0) – 18 pts
- South Carolina Stingrays (8-7-0-0) – 16 pts
- Florida Everblades (7-5-2-0) – 16 pts
- Greenville Swamp Rabbits (5-10-2-0) – 12 pts
- Atlanta Gladiators (4-8-2-0) – 10 pts
*standings as of 10:00 a.m. on November 19, 2018
