BY: Mark Shelley, Greenville Swamp Rabbits
DULUTH, GA – Despite Alex Ierullo’s second-period goal, the Greenville Swamp Rabbits fell short of the Atlanta Gladiators 2-1 on Tuesday night at Gas South Arena.
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In a back-and-forth opening 20 minutes, the Gladiators netted the opening goal at 9:46, as Brandon Schultz cut his way into the offensive end for his second goal of the campaign. Despite trailing at the intermission, Greenville outshot the Gladiators 11-9 at the end of the first.
Early in the second period, Atlanta earned a power-play 33 seconds into the frame and converted at 1:49, as Eric Neiley one-timed his first of the season into the net for the 2-0 advantage. Late in the frame, at 18:12, Alex Ierullo buried a no-look feed from Nikita Pavlychev into the Atlanta goal for his second of the season.
Greenville goaltender David Hrenak made 15 stops in the third period to keep his team in contention for a tying goal, but Atlanta’s Tyler Parks stopped nine Swamp Rabbits shots to hold on to the 2-1 lead for the victory.
With the loss, the Swamp Rabbits fall to 2-2-1-0 while the Gladiators improve to 3-2-0-0. Greenville returns home to Bon Secours Wellness Arena on Friday, November 4, for a 7:05 p.m. Opening Night rematch with the Savannah Ghost Pirates. Tickets are available at SwampRabbits.com.
About the Greenville Swamp Rabbits …
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 the proud ECHL affiliate of the NHL’s LA Kings and the AHL’s Ontario Reign. Greenville is an ECHL, Premier ‘AA’ Hockey League member.
