BY: Matt Trust, Greenville Swamp Rabbits
Greenville, SC – The Greenville Swamp Rabbits fell on Sunday afternoon to the Orlando Solar Bears, 4-1 at Bon Secours Wellness Arena. Orlando salvaged the three-game series with back-to-back wins on Saturday and Sunday after Greenville skated to an 8-2 win on Thursday night.
In the first period, Orlando grabbed the early advantage courtesy of Tyler bird at the 12:03 mark. Bird raced along the right-wing and beat Greenville goaltender John Lethemon short side to provide the Solar Bears a 1-0 lead on a quick transition play. Shots in the opening 20 minutes were 9-6 in favor of Greenville.
MIDDLE FRAME DRAMA
In the middle frame, Orlando doubled their advantage to 2-0 at 1:36. Nikita Pavlychev found a loose puck in the slot and squeezed it through Lethemon’s seven-hole. Jake Coughler tallied his sixth goal of the season 15:37 to extend his club’s lead at 15:37. Tristin Langan slid a perfect pass across for Coughler in the slot to blast into the net from the bottom of the right circle.
Down 3-0 into the third period, Greenville pressed and broke through offensively on Orlando goaltender Michael Lackey. At 9:40, Patrick Bajkov fired home a centering pass from Matt Bradley to cut Greenville’s deficit to two. Despite great looks late in the third period on a 6-on-4 power play, the Swamp Rabbits could not pull closer.
Aaron Luchuk found the empty net with 1:22 remaining in regulation to solidify a 4-1 final for Orlando. Final shots totaled 38-24 in favor of Greenville. The Swamp Rabbits record shifts to 9-6-5-2 through 22 games to start the 2020-21 regular season.
#RABBITSRISING#
The Greenville Swamp Rabbits will return to action on Friday, February 19, to kick off a three-game road set with the Indy Fuel. The puck drops at 7:05 p.m.
SINGLE GAME TICKETS ON SALE NOW!
Rise With Us and join us at Bon Secours Wellness Arena for the return of professional hockey in the United States! Single Game Tickets are available to purchase today here.
