Greenville erases three deficits in second consecutive win
BY: Jordan Kuhns, Greenville Swamp Rabbits
MANCHESTER, N.H. — In a game that saw five first period goals and three Manchester leads, the Greenville Swamp Rabbits stuck to the game plan and turned the tides. Greenville struck for four goals in the third period and toppled the Manchester Monarchs 7-3 on Sunday afternoon at SNHU Arena.
Austen Brassard struck twice, and Kamerin Nault and Dylan Vander Esch added tallies in the third period to pull away from the Monarchs. Brassard, with help from Brendan Harms and Chris Izmirlian, who scored four points on the day, forced a Manchester turnover and snapped the puck through Cole Kehler to grab their first lead of the day.
The key to the game was pressure. All four of the goals were forced by pressure and net-front traffic, with Nault, Vander Esch, and Brassard’s second, forced by pressure and traffic.
The first period saw five goals scored overall, and four of them scored in the game’s first six minutes and three seconds. The Swamp Rabbits were also forced into penalty trouble in the first period, having taken three penalties, but Manchester was unable to convert on any of them.
Cory Ward started the scoring for the home club on a rebound opportunity just as a penalty to J.C. Brassard had expired. Under a minute later, Jake Bolton found a way on a drop pass from Izmirlian on the rush, and his slap shot found a way through.
Just over a minute later, Spencer Watson scored his first of two goals in the first period with a nifty deke to the backhand to take the lead again. And, like the last time, Izmirlian had an answer with a deflection out in front of the goal.
Watson eventually gave Manchester the go-ahead goal late in the first period, but as always, the Swamp Rabbits had a response. A tremendous individual effort from Nault, with assists from Michael Pelech and Johno May, converted on his own rebound and tied the game at three.
The Swamp Rabbits held the team who averages the most shots on goal per game, the Manchester Monarchs, to well below their average, and pumped 39 shots on goal in a constant barrage, all at even strength. The Swamp Rabbits were only granted one chance on the power play.
11 players scored points in the game, and six of them posted multi-point efforts. The win cemented four out of a possible six standings points in the books for Greenville.
The Swamp Rabbits will have the rest of the week to prepare for a rematch with the Atlanta Gladiators on Friday, February 15 at 7:30 p.m. Catch all of the action on the Swamp Rabbits Broadcast Network, or on ECHL.TV.
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