TRUST: STINGRAYS WIN GM 1 IN CONFERENCE FINALS
BY: Matt Trust, Greenville Swamp Rabbits
Greenville, SC – The Greenville Swamp Rabbits dropped a 5-1 final against the South Carolina Stingrays in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals on Wednesday Night at the Carolina Ice Palace. South Carolina leads the best-of-five series, 1-0. Game 2 is scheduled for Friday night at Bon Secours Wellness Arena.
Max Novak opened the scoring for the Stingrays on a 5-on-3 power-play goal at 11:58 of the first period. On the rebound of a Cole Ully try, Novak, lifted the second-chance effort over Ryan Bednard’s pad and into the cage. Dylan Steman doubled his team’s lead to 2-0 at 14:14. Shots after 20 minutes were 15-4 South Carolina.
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Next period, the Rays scored twice more to open a 4-0 hole against their in-state rivals. South Carolina captain Andrew Cherniwchan tallied at 5:37 on the power play, and again at 13:11 after redirecting a Tyler Nanne shot. After 40 minutes, South Carolina led the shot total of 26-16.
Graham Knott broke Hunter Shepard’s bid for a shutout with Greenville’s only goal at 6:26 of the third period. Novak tallied his second goal at 18:16 with an unassisted, empty-net marker. The final shot totals concluded at 36-27 Stingrays. The Swamp Rabbits finished 0-for-3 on the power play and 3-for-5 on the penalty kill.
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ABOUT US
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.
