Greenville takes the first of two against South Division opponent
BY: Jordan Kuhn, Greenville Swamp Rabbits
NORFOLK, Va. — With no lead safe on Wednesday night at the Scope, the Greenville Swamp Rabbits made sure the last one counted. Patrick Bajkov scored on the Swamp Rabbits’ only shot of overtime in a 4-3 win over the Norfolk Admirals.
Bajkov stripped former teammate Roman Ammirato of the puck upon zone entry and began a 2-on-1 break with Jake Horton. Bajkov took the shot himself from the right circle and beat former Swamp Rabbits goaltender Brandon Halverson clean over the blocker to end the game in favor of the Swamp Rabbits, who had dropped their last three games prior.
Norfolk made the win hard-earned every step by erasing both Swamp Rabbits leads throughout regulation.
Greenville scored on back-to-back shifts past the midway point of the first period. Spencer Smallman backed up the defense and his shot from the right circle off the rush deflected off of a Norfolk defender and past Halverson to open the scoring.
The ensuing shift saw Cliff Pu and Jake Horton go to work and force a turnover. Horton ferried the puck to the slot, where Matt Marcinew rifled home his fourth goal of the season just 14 seconds later.
Norfolk struck twice in a minute and 46 seconds to tie. First, J.C. Campagna struck on a Ryan Black high sticking penalty to cut the lead in half. Then, Ryan Bednard appeared to make the save on an odd-man rush, but Sebastian Vidmar kept digging away and found a way to put the puck home to tie the game.
Rodrigo Abols endeared himself to the Greenville faithful with his first as a Swamp Rabbit on the power play early in the second period. The Latvian picked a corner from the left circle, set up by Bajkov and Adam Rockwood.
Greenville missed on a great chance on a major power play nearly immediately after the goal. A scary collision between Ben Holmstrom and Dylan MacPherson resulted in a major boarding penalty. An interference penalty by Nathan Perkovich interrupted the flow, and ultimately, the Admirals killed the penalty off.
His brother, Josh, made up for the mishap. Just 55 seconds into the third period, the Norfolk power play took advantage on a one-touch passing play.
Bednard was forced to come up big several times throughout the third period and overtime. His best was a breakaway save on Campagna in overtime that could have ended the game. He made 28 saves in the win for the Swamp Rabbits.
The rematch of these two teams will take place Friday at 7:35 p.m. at the Scope. The game can be heard on the Swamp Rabbits Broadcast Network, or on ECHL.TV.
Get Social: Follow the Swamp Rabbits and get behind-the-scenes coverage like never before on the team’s official Facebook and Twitter pages!
Contact a Swamp Rabbits Account Executive at 864.674.PUCK (7825) for information on 2019–20 ticket plans, special group rates and hospitality opportunities and secure your seats today! Get the latest Swamp Rabbits gear by visiting the “Hop Shop” online at Shop.SwampRabbits.com to browse the full collection of fan wear and novelties!
