BY: Mark Shelley, Greenville Swamp Rabbits
GREENVILLE, S.C. – Max Zimmer’s overtime goal lifted the Greenville Swamp Rabbits over the Rapid City Rush, 5-4, on Thursday night at Bon Secours Wellness Arena.
GAME SHEET: https://bit.ly/3NHWQxX
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1st | 2nd | 3rd | OT | Final |
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GVL |
2 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
5 |
| RC | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
4 |
Greenville wasted little time taking the opening lead as Anthony Rinaldi scored his 11th of the season, sliding a loose puck into the Rapid City net at 2:35. Rinaldi doubled his scoring total, and the Rabbits lead at 10:03, firing the puck into the back of the net after a Rush turnover. Rapid City cut the deficit in half at 17:22, as Brett Gravelle sniped his 24th of the season from the fast break.
Ethan Somoza continued his blistering start to his career in the second period, scoring his second of the season at 3:08. After Greenville took a minor penalty late in the frame, the Rush, again, cut the Swamp Rabbits’ lead down to a single goal as Gravelle popped his second of the game into the net.
The Swamp Rabbits scored another early-period goal at 0:45 of the third period, as Alex Ierullo scored his first of his career in his first ECHL game to give the Swamp Rabbits the 4-2 lead. At the 14:19 mark, Rapid City’s Logan Nelson squeaked the puck into the net before Tyson Helgeson tied the game for the Rush with a goal at 16:16 to force overtime.
In the overtime period, Max Zimmer scored his eighth game-winning goal of the season at 6:35 to capture the 5-4 victory in front of the home crowd.
With the win, the Swamp Rabbits improve to 30-27-5-4, while the Rush falls to 34-22-6-5.
The Swamp Rabbits and the Rush rematch on First Responders Night at Bon Secours Wellness Arena on Friday at 7:05 p.m.
Swamp Rabbits Single Game Tickets are on sale now! For more information or to secure your seats today, call 864-674-PUCK (7825) or email INFO@SwampRabbits.com
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. Additionally, Greenville is a member of the ECHL, Premier’ A.A.’ Hockey.
