BY: Matt Trust, Greenville Swamp Rabbits
Greenville, SC – The Greenville Swamp Rabbits dropped the second of a three-game set to the Jacksonville Icemen, 2-1, on Friday night at the VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena. Both teams will meet tomorrow for the rubber match at Bon Secours Wellness Arena.
Greenville goaltender Ryan Bednard entered Friday with a shutout streak of 188:37 in head-to-head play against Jacksonville, which included three shutouts on Jan. 31, Feb. 6, and last night. Scoreless through 40 minutes, the Icemen finally solved Bednard and snapped his shutout streak against Jacksonville at 232:05.
At 3:28 of the third period, Kevin McKernan scored his first goal of the season on a drive from the left point. But before regulation concluded, the Swamp Rabbits earned the equalizer courtesy of Joey Haddad. With 6:07 left in regulation, Haddad snapped a drop pass from Nick Poehling past Charles Williams to tie the score at 1-1.
#RABBITSRISING#
For the second time in as many nights, extra hockey was required to decide a Sunshine State winner. In Greenville’s league-leading 13th overtime game of the season, Ara Nazarian scored at 4:50 in the sudden-death frame. After video review, Nazarian snuck a short-side shot past Bednard along the near post for the game-winner.
Greenville’s record shifts to 14-10-7-2, and the Jacksonville Icemen improved to 12-12-1-3. Both teams are set to conclude the weekend tomorrow at Bon Secours Wellness Arena. Puck drop is scheduled for 7 p.m. Ticket information is available online at swamprabbits.com.
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.
GEAR UP!
Represent the Swamp Rabbits for the 2020–21 season by heading to our online store, the Hop Shop, to purchase your Bits gear. On sale now!
ABOUT US
Acquired by Spire Sports + Entertainment (SS+E) in 2020, the Greenville Swamp Rabbits hockey team has provided 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.
