Six-game losing skid comes to an end
BY: Jordan Kuhn, Greenville Swamp Rabbits
GREENVILLE, S.C. — Greenville fans packed the house for Nickelodeon Night, presented by Earth FM, Guns ‘N’ Hoses Night, and Pucks ‘N’ Paws, and the Swamp Rabbits did not disappoint. In front of a little under 6,000 fans and their dogs, the Swamp Rabbits held the Worcester Railers to a single goal in a 4-1 win, ending a six-game losing skid and putting on a show at the Bon Secours Wellness Arena.
It took eighteen minutes for either team to get on the board. At 17:53 of the first period, Cédric Lacroix, or “Sweet Ceddy,” as the back of his PAW Patrol-themed specialty jersey stated, flung the puck past Evan Buitenhuis off a pass from Karl El-Mir.
Drew Callin responded a minute later while the Swamp Rabbits were on the power play. A short-handed Railers breakaway led to a hooking call, and the Railers were awarded a penalty shot. Callin managed to slide the puck through the pads of Jake Kupsky, and the game was tied 1-1 at the end of the first period.
Matt Marcinew re-energized the Greenville crowd two minutes into the second period. Entering the zone with speed, “Marce” flung a backhanded shot past backup goaltender Jakub Skarek, giving the Swamp Rabbits a 2-1 lead.
“Sweet Ceddy” added to the Swamp Rabbits lead at the 10:22 mark of the period. At 8:52 of the second period, Mason Baptista went to the box for roughing, but Lacroix did not let being short-handed stop him and was able to tuck one past Skarek to give Greenville a two-goal lead.
Despite close scoring chances from Worcester, the Swamp Rabbits stood their ground and held the Railers to eight shots and no goals. In the final seconds of the game, with a “we want pizza” chant circling Bon Secours Wellness Arena, the Greenville crowd erupted as Kamerin Nault launched one into the empty Worcester net, securing the Swamp Rabbits a 4-1 win.
Because the Swamp Rabbits scored four with “Naulty’s” empty-net goal, fans can use the code SwampRabbits50 to receive 50% off pizza at participating Papa John’s locations on Sunday, February 23.
Jake Kupsky stood tall in his first start as a Swamp Rabbit, stopping 22 of the 23 Worcester shots, while both the offense and defense fought for the win the entire game. Greenville outshot 41-23 for the game.
The Swamp Rabbits will travel to Atlanta for a 2:05 p.m. game against the Gladiators on February 23 before returning to the Bon Secours Wellness Arena on February 26 for the final Winning Wednesday game of the season against the Cincinnati Cyclones. Tickets are available at SwampRabbits.com.
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