Stingrays jump out to early lead; Brodzinski and Singleton score late in defeat
By: Mark Binetti, Greenville Swamp Rabbits
(NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C.) – Bryce Brodzinski and Tate Singleton scored in the final period of regulation, but the goals couldn’t cover the deficit forced by the South Carolina Stingrays, who jumped out to a lead early and ran with a 5-2 win over the Greenville Swamp Rabbits at North Charleston Coliseum on Friday night. The loss snaps the Swamp Rabbits’ win streak at five games from November 17th to November 27th and halts a three-game road winning streak.
The Stingrays came out of the opening 20 minutes with a 2-0 lead, accrued within a minute of action. With 6:58 left in the first, Jon McDonald snuck in off the blue line and drove the middle lane, deflecting a Jayden Lee corner pass over the shoulder of Swamp Rabbits goalie Dryden McKay to put the Stingrays up 1-0 (Lee and Josh Wilkins assisted). Precisely 41 seconds later, Erik Middendorf poked at the puck in a net-front scramble that looked like it may have been covered but was jarred loose by contact. Middendorf got just enough to send it under McKay and in to double the Stingrays quickly lead to a 2-0 advantage, upheld after review (Kyler Kupka and Alexander Suzdalev assisted). In net for South Carolina, Mitch Gibson stopped all four shots he saw in the first frame.
The Stingrays pulled away in the second due to the strength of their power play, netting two of their three in the middle frame on the man’s advantage. The first came from Josh Wilkins, who fired a one-timer past McKay from the right side to triple the Stingrays lead to 3-0 at 5:23 of the second (Suzdalev and Kupka assisted). At the halfway point of the game, Erik Middendorf got his second of the night to make it 4-0 when he took a drop pass, cut to the left of the slot, and zipped a wrist shot past McKay. Jamie Engelbert poked home a loose puck in front of McKay’s net on the second power play of the game for South Carolina, ballooning the advantage to 5-0 with 2:59 left in the second (Austin Magera and Charlie Combs assisted). Gibson again turned aside each Swamp Rabbit shot, facing five in the middle frame. McKay was subbed out for Kolby Hay, who played the final period in relief.
The Swamp Rabbits didn’t go away without a fight, more than doubling their shot total and beating Gibson twice to spoil his shutout. At 8:25 of the third, Bryce Brodzinski potted his team-leading seventh strike when Brodzinski unloaded several chances and eventually rifled a shot past Gibson to cut the deficit to 5-1 (Dru Krebs and Max Coyle assisted). Tate Singleton hit paydirt in the final minute, redirecting a Brodzinski shot with 27 seconds remaining to bring the score to its 5-2 final, ending the Swamp Rabbits winning streak at five games.
Dryden McKay suffered his first defeat since November 16th, stopping 17 of 22 shots in 40 minutes (7-4-1-0). Kolby Hay, making his second career appearance, played the remaining 20 minutes of the game, stopping all six shots he saw in relief.
The Swamp Rabbits now end their Thanksgiving week road trip tomorrow night against the Jacksonville Icemen in a rematch of last Sunday. Puck drop is slated for 7:00 p.m. EST at Vystar Veterans Memorial 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 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 LA Kings and the AHL’s Ontario Reign. Greenville is an ECHL Premier ‘AA’ Hockey League member.
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