SWAMP RABBITS LOSE IN TEDDY BEAR TOSS GAME 

By: Mark Shelley, Greenville Swamp Rabbits

GREENVILLE SC – On a night that saw the Teddy Bears rain early, the Greenville Swamp Rabbits saw the South Carolina Stingrays score seven unanswered goals to overturn a 5-1 Greenville lead in an 8-5 win on Saturday night at Bon Secours Wellness Arena.

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Fans did not wait long for the Teddy Bear Toss to get underway. Greenville saw Anthony Beauchamp slip a shot into the South Carolina net just 1:48 seconds into the game, bringing an avalanche of stuffed animals onto the ice. After the delay for the cleanup from Beauchamp’s goal, the Stingray responded with a power-play goal from Josh Wilkins at 3:39. Later in the period, at 8:27, Nikita Pavlychev scored a power-play goal for his fifth of the season. Pavlychev, again, lit the lamp with a power-play goal at 15:37 for a 3-1 Swamp Rabbits lead.

Out of the intermission, Greenville extended its lead with a pair of goals from JD Greenway, his third of the season, at 3:01, and Brannon McManus, a power-play goal at 7:34. At 9:41, Wilkins scored a second power-play goal for the Stingrays to kickstart the comeback. South Carolina used its newfound momentum to score three more goals before the second intermission. Austin Magera scored at 14:20 before Ryan Leibold brought the Stingrays within a goal at 17:15. At 19:59, Tyson Empey beat the horn to tie the game at 5-5.

In the third, the Stingrays gained their first lead of the night at 2:35, as Wilkins completed his hat-trick away from home. Shortly after, at 3:29, Leibold scored his second of the game before Kevin O’Neil netted the empty-net goal at 18:50, solidifying the 8-5 final.

W: Bjorklund

L: Bednard

With the loss, the Swamp Rabbits see their eight-game winning streak end and drop to 15-3-0-0, while the Stingrays improve to 9-6-2-0.

The Swamp Rabbits remain at Bon Secours Wellness Arena on Wednesday, December 6, for a meeting with the Cincinnati Cyclones at 7 p.m.

Swamp Rabbits Single-Game tickets, Full Season, and Half Season Tickets for the 2023-24 season are on sale now at SwampRabbits.com or by calling (864) 674-7825.

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.

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