TRUST: GREENVILLE SWEEP SERIES AT WHEELING
BY: Matt Trust, Greenville Swamp Rabbits
Greenville, SC – The Greenville Swamp Rabbits scored a 6-3 road victory against the Wheeling Nailers on Sunday afternoon at WesBanco Arena. The Swamp Rabbits improved to 5-1-0-0 on their current season-long, seven-game road swing.
Greenville opened the scoring only 17 seconds into the game after Graham Knott redirected a Frank Hora shot. The Nailers evened the score at 7:46 on Patrick Watling’s 13th goal of the season on a transition play. Joshua Winquist fed Watling to his left before snapping a top-shelf past John Lethemon.
The Rabbits answered with two quick tallies late in the opening stanza courtesy of strong special teams. At 17:33, Liam Pecararo converted on a power play after finding a loose puck in the trapezoid. Pecararo beat Wheeling goaltender Louis-Philip Guindon with a quick tuck attempt on his short side for his 14th goal of the season. Only 1:59 later, Ben Finkelstein blasted a shot from downtown through traffic to provide his club a 3-1 advantage at the first intermission.
Max Zimmer joined the scoring parade at 8:56 of the second period to open a three-goal cushion. Garrett Thompson found Zimmer across from the left-wing before blasting home his 15th goal of the season. Tim Doherty brought the Nailers within 4-2 on a successful bank shot off Lethemon’s leg pad at 10:59.
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Frank DiChiara answered for Greenville with a power play marker at 16:26. DiChiara finished the night with a season-best four-point performance (one goal, three assists). The Swamp Rabbits led 5-2 after 40 minutes with a 28-14 advantage in shots.
In the final frame, Alec Rauhauser converted at 13:08 on a blast from the center-point to round out Greenville’s slugfest. Wheeling’s Joshua Winquist tallied a power play goal at 19:04 to complete the 6-3 scoring line.
The Swamp Rabbits finished 2-for-6 on the power play and 3-for-4 on the penalty kill. Greenville returns to action on Wednesday, May 19, to conclude their seven-game road trip at Jacksonville. Puck drop at the VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena is scheduled for 7 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.
