BY: Matt Trust, Greenville Swamp Rabbits
Greenville, SC – The Greenville Swamp Rabbits dropped the first of a three-game set against the Florida Everblades, 4-1, behind a three-goal second period on Wednesday night at Hertz Arena.
In the opening period, Florida struck first with Joe Pendenza’s 12th goal of the campaign, 13:27. Cole Sanford fired a shot from the right faceoff circle, and Pendenza found the rebound in the low slot to open the scoring. Shots after the first period were 11-5 in favor of the Everblades.
Florida scored three times in the middle stanza to grab a commanding 4-0 lead. Myles Powell added to his team’s advantage at the 5:33 mark. Powell corralled a Michael Huntebrinker feed at the blueline and fired a quick wrist shot past John Lethemon.
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Florida scored twice more, only 61 seconds apart, that started with Alex Kile on a breakaway, followed by Pendenza’s second goal of the night to extend the margin to 4-0. Pendenza’s second tally came shorthanded after burying a centering pass from Hugo Roy. Shots after 40 minutes were 23-17 Florida.
In the third period, Liam Pecararo scored on a bullet from the left wing to snap Blades’ netminder Jake Hildebrand’s bid for a shutout. Transitioning into the Everblades zone, Matthew Barnaby fed Pecararo across from the right-wing for his first career ECHL point. Final shots on goal finished 33-26 Everblades.
The Greenville Swamp Rabbits return to action on Friday night to continue a three-game road set versus Florida. The puck drop is slated for 7:30 p.m.
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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.
