BY: Mark Binetti, Greenville Swamp Rabbits
GREENVILLE, SC– Jaydon Dureau’s two-goal night spearheaded a 5-1 Orlando Solar Bears win over the Greenville Swamp Rabbits on Tuesday to win the South Division Semifinals in six games. Orlando will advance to the South Division Finals of the Kelly Cup Playoffs with the win.
Both teams skated to a scoreless opening 34 minutes until Dureau broke the deadlock at 14:04 of the second period with help from Tyler Bird and Spencer Kersten. While Tanner Eberle sat in the box for a minor boarding penalty, Orlando capitalized on Greenville’s one-man deficit. Kersten carried the puck through the neutral zone before dishing a cross-ice pass to Bird. Bird passed it directly on Dureau’s stick and deflected it past Jacob Ingham for the 1-0 Orlando lead. Five minutes later, the Solar Bears doubled their lead on a play from Dureau and Ben Carroll. Carroll skated into the offensive zone to receive a pass from Jimmy Mazza before flinging a pass across the crease for Dureau to counter Ingham on the left.
Orlando added its third goal just 3:28 into the final frame. Off a faceoff in the Solar Bears’ defensive zone, Darik Angeli dished a cross-zone pass to meet Kersten in the neutral zone. Kersten skated the puck down the remaining length of the ice before cutting into Ingham’s crease, burying a top-shelf shot. Colton Young got the Swamp Rabbits on the board at 15:33, shortly after Greenville pulled Ingham to add an extra attacker. With help from Josh McKechney and Samuel Jardine, Young fluttered a shot past Evan Fitzpatrick. However, Orlando found the back of the empty net twice more before the final buzzer–one from Aaron Luchuk, the other off Bird’s stick–to solidify its 5-1 win.
Jacob Ingham (0-1-3) stopped 18 of 21 shots from the Solar Bears, while Fitzpatrick stoned all but one of the Swamp Rabbits 47 on the night.
The Swamp Rabbits 2023-24 ECHL Season has ended with a defeat. On behalf of the Greenville Swamp Rabbits organization and our ownership with Spire Sports + Entertainment, thank you for making this season memorable! I appreciate your support, and we’ll see you back at Bon Secours Wellness Arena in October!
About the Greenville Swamp Rabbits …
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 and 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 Los Angeles Kings and the AHL’s Ontario Reign. Greenville is an ECHL Premier ‘AAA’ Hockey League member.