Greenville approaches Thanksgiving mile marker in playoff contention
BY: Jordan Kuhn, Greenville Swamp Rabbits
GREENVILLE, SC – This week saw that a turnaround was needed after a bit of a slide, the Swamp Rabbits responded in kind with three wins in the four games this past week.
While perhaps aided by a Norfolk team on a massive losing skid, Wednesday would lead you to believe otherwise. The Swamp Rabbits and Admirals traded goals back and forth, but eventually, Greenville took advantage of a mistake by a former teammate. Roman Ammirato turned the puck over just inside the line, and Patrick Bajkov led the two-on-one rush the other direction for the game-winning goal in a 4-3 win on a blustery Wednesday night.
A few nights later, Greenville made it a no-doubter. The Swamp Rabbits scored three goals in the first period and never looked back. Kamerin Nault, Mason Baptista and Bajkov all netted tallies to extend the lead. The damage was further extended in the third period, when Rodrigo Abols posted a pair of goals, and Matt Marcinew and Michael Pelech added on in the 8-1 drubbing of the last place team in the South Division.
A relatively unknown Indy Fuel club came to Greenville as the Swamp Rabbits were riding high on the offensive showcase they put forth the night before. The game was tied at one for all of 14 seconds, as at the 5:26 mark of the second period, Bajkov added his second of the night to get the lead back. Nathan Perkovich scored an insurance tally that ended up being the game winner. Jeremy Helvig made 42 saves, a career-high, to help cement the win, including his biggest glove save on Keoni Texeira in the final minute.
Tied for the top spot in the South Division, the Florida Everblades closed out the busy week. Both teams were set to play their fourth game in five days, and the sluggishness was apparent. All Florida needed was a goal from Zach Magwood late in the first period, and a shutout from goaltender Cam Johnson, to seal the win. Ryan Bednard suffered his only loss of the weekend after winning both in Norfolk.
11/13 at Norfolk Admirals – W 4-3
11/15 at Norfolk Admirals – W 8-1
11/16 vs. Indy Fuel – W 3-2
11/17 vs. Florida Everblades – L 3-0
UPCOMING GAMES
Greenville Swamp Rabbits at South Carolina Stingrays
Tuesday, November 19 – 7:05 p.m.
Listen — Watch
College Night + Thirsty Thursday ($3 Beer)
Greenville Swamp Rabbits vs. Jacksonville Icemen
Thursday, November 21 – 7:05 p.m. (NOTE THAT THIS TIME HAS CHANGED FROM PRIOR SCHEDULING)
Tickets — Listen — Watch
Hockey Fights Cancer (Family 4 Pack)
Greenville Swamp Rabbits vs. Atlanta Gladiators
Friday, November 22 – 7:05 p.m.
Tickets — F4P — Listen — Watch
PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Patrick Bajkov – 4 GP | 4 G – 2 A – 6 P
Now the team leader in points, Patrick Bajkov’s game has risen to a new height. The British Columbia native has taken games over with six multi-point efforts on the season. He had three of them this past week, including the game-winning overtime goal on Wednesday in Norfolk, and two key goals in the win over the Indy Fuel. Bajkov set a new season-high in points in 18 fewer games. He is shooting an outstanding 31.0% on the season, almost four times more than the league average.
RABBIT TAILS
- Reassigned to Greenville early last week, Cliff Pu and Rodrigo Abols paid immediate dividends to the Swamp Rabbits. Pu posted a goal and five assists in four games last week, and Abols scored three goals and an assist in the same span.
- When leading heading into the room for intermission, the Swamp Rabbits have not lost. The team is 5-0-0 when leading after one, and 6-0-0 when leading after two.
- Jeremy Helvig made his first start for the Swamp Rabbits on Saturday, and made a career-high 42 saves in the effort. Helvig now has a career ECHL record of 28-9-4, a 2.36 GAA and a .918 save percentage.
- In the early going, Greenville does most of its damage in the second period (21 goals), but has its best goal differential (+4) in the third period (19-15).
SOUTH DIVISION STANDINGS
- South Carolina Stingrays (11-1-0) – 22 pts
- Florida Everblades (11-4-0) – 22 pts
- Greenville Swamp Rabbits (8-7-1) – 17 pts
- Atlanta Gladiators (6-7-0) – 12 pts
- Orlando Solar Bears (4-7-2) – 10 pts
- Jacksonville Icemen (3-7-2) – 8 pts
- Norfolk Admirals (2-11-3) – 7 pts
*standings as of 10:00 a.m. on November 18, 2019
