SWAMP RABBITS SCHOOL GHOST PIRATES ON 11/13
Freeman hits 100 points as a Swamp Rabbit, Savoie, and Brodzinski score in three straight.
By: Mark Binetti, Greenville Swamp Rabbits
(GREENVILLE, S.C.) – Ben Freeman earned his 100th point with the Greenville Swamp Rabbits, Carter Savoie gave the Swamp Rabbits a power play goal for a fourth straight game, and Bryce Brodzinski and Patrick Moynihan cashed in multi-point efforts to push the Swamp Rabbits to a 4-3 win over the Savannah Ghost Pirates in this morning’s “School Day Game,” presented by AFL Global. The win gives the Swamp Rabbits three straight victories from November 9th.
The Swamp Rabbits opened up class with the first scoring entry, carrying the lone goal of the first to a 1-0 lead at intermission. With 8:02 left in the first, Keith Kinkaid, in net for Savannah, fired an outlet pass to the left wing corner that deflected off his intended target and pinballed to the front of the open net. The puck was pushed to Bryce Brodzinski, who slammed it into the open net to put the Swamp Rabbits up 1-0 (Brent Pedersen and Stuart Rolofs assisted).
The B-Block featured a Swamp Rabbits milestone and a counterpunch alike, but the Swamp Rabbits remained in the driver’s seat heading into the dressing room. At 2:07 of the second, a strong cycle led to Tate Singleton from behind the net, locating Ben Freeman in the low slot, uncontested. The Swamp Rabbits Captain settled the puck down and rifled a shot past Kinkaid, putting Greenville up 2-0 and giving Freeman his 100th point with the team across 38 goals and 62 assists (Singleton and Patrick Moynihan assisted). After a Swamp Rabbits’ potential third goal from Stuart Rolofs was waved off (upheld by review), the Ghost Pirates found an answer to halve their deficit. With 7:05 remaining, Liam Arnsby intercepted a zone exit and the Swamp Rabbits’ blue line and fired a pass to Devon Paliani in the slot area. Paliani evaded his defender and outlasted Swamp Rabbits goaltender Jacob Ingham to get the Ghost Pirates on the board, trailing 2-1 heading into the final period.
Riley Hughes kept Savannah’s momentum going into the third period, evening the game before the halfway point of the final lesson. With 12:31 left in the game, the Swamp Rabbits just killed off a Ghost Pirates power play, but Hughes snuck to the left side of Ingham’s net. The puck eventually reached Hughes, who potted the tying strike to square the game at 2-2 (Will Reidell and Devon Paliani assisted). Eventually, the “teachers” regained control of the classroom and forged ahead with their lesson plan of the win. Tate Singleton broke the deadlock with 10:38 left in the game, sparking a two-on-one rush with Patrick Moynihan, five-holing Kinkaid to vault the Swamp Rabbits ahead to 3-2. Moments later, the Swamp Rabbits went on a two-man advantage and found the separation they needed in Carter Savoie. Savoie scored for a third consecutive game with a snipe over Kinkaid’s shoulder from the right side, extending his point streak to five games as well while sending the Swamp Rabbits off with a 4-2 lead with 6:28 left in the game (Bobby Russell and Bryce Brodzinski assisted). The Ghost Pirates tried to act up in the classroom, closing the gap to 4-3 with 2:44 left in the game. Reece Vitelli, coming into the Swamp Rabbits zone with speed on a power play zone entry, slid into the slot area, pushing a Logan Drevitch pass by Ingham to make things interesting late (Drevitch and Dennis Cesana assisted). Once more, order was restored to the classroom, and Ingham and company shut the door late to head to after-school activities with a 4-3 win.
Jacob Ingham stopped 42 of 45 shots, winning back-to-back starts (2-1-0-0).
The Swamp Rabbits continue their homestand, now shifting gears to the Florida Everblades. Puck drop for the weekend opener, “Faith and Family Day,” presented by Abide Roofing, is slated for a special 4:05 p.m. EST puck drop and features the celebration of faith, family, and fellowship with pregame music from Frank Vieira and postgame music from Cornerstone Methodist Church. Sunday’s finale is at 3:05 p.m., with all action at Bon Secours Wellness Arena.
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, 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.
