TRUST: (FRI) RABBITS EXTEND POINT STREAK TO 5
BY: Matt Trust, Greenville Swamp Rabbits
Greenville, SC – Karch Bachman scored twice including a game-tying mark late in the third period, but the Greenville Swamp Rabbits fell in overtime, 6-5, to the Indy Fuel on Friday night. Bachman’s equalizer to force overtime pushed Greenville’s current point streak to five games.
Greg Meireles opened the Upstate’s scoring with an unassisted goal only 2:24 into the contest. Meireles added an assist in the second period and now has helpers in four consecutive games (one goal, four assists).
Only 65 seconds later, Spencer Watson tied the game for Indy at 1-1 after finishing a cross-ice feed from Seamus Malone. Greenville regained a 2-1 advantage at 6:32 on a shorthanded goal by Bachman after turning on the jets and racing up ice for a breakaway. DJ Busdeker answered for the Fuel on the power play at 8:33, but Nick Poehling countered for the Bits at 9:21 to complete the first-period scoring.
Greenville’s 3-2 lead carried into the first intermission with Indy possessing a 10-9 shots advantage. Early in the second period, the Fuel tallied twice only 14 seconds apart to grab a 4-3 advantage. Willie Raskob evened the score at 3:42 before Nic Pierog tallied at 3:56.
The back-and-forth affair continued, and Liam Pecararo grabbed his first goal of the season at 9:19 on a 4-on-4 goal. Shots were 23-20 Fuel after 40 minutes with the score deadlocked at 4-4.
In the final frame, Indy regained the lead at 28 seconds on Watson’s second goal of the night. Bachman countered with a power play goal for his second of the night at 14:29 to force the eventual sudden-death overtime.
In an action-packed overtime period, Indy converted a 2-on-0 breakaway at 4:32 to walk-off the game. Alex Rauter fed former Swamp Rabbits forward Matt Marcinew across for the game-ending tally. Final shots totaled at 35-25 Indy.
The Swamp Rabbits finished the night 1-for-3 on the power play and 4-for-6 on the penalty kill. The Greenville Swamp Rabbits return to action tomorrow night to conclude their current back-to-back set against the Indy Fuel. Puck drop from the Indiana Farmers Coliseum is scheduled for 7:05 p.m.
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Acquired by Spire Sports + Entertainment (SS+E) in 2020, the Greenville Swamp Rabbits hockey team has been providing family-friendly, live entertainment at Bon Secours Wellness Arena since 2010. Formerly the Greenville Road Warriors, the Swamp Rabbits are the highest level professional minor league franchise in South Carolina. The Swamp Rabbits are proud affiliates of the NHL’s Florida Panthers and AHL’s Charlotte Checkers. Greenville is a member of the ECHL, Premier ‘AA’ Hockey League. Since the conclusion of the 2019-20 NHL Season, 678 former ECHL players have debuted in the NHL. Nine former Greenville Road Warriors/Swamp Rabbits have later made their NHL debut.
