SWAMP RABBITS COMEBACK STIFLED IN OVERTIME
Swamp Rabbits extend point streak in Gas South Arena to 11 straight games since November 2023
By: Mark Binetti, Greenville Swamp Rabbits
(DULUTH, Ga.) – Brent Pedersen tied the game with his team’s second power play goal to mount a three-goal comeback, but the Atlanta Gladiators snuck away with the second point thanks to Eric Neiley in overtime to claim a 6-5 game in Gas South Arena on Friday night.
Bryce Brodzinski kept his hot streak going in getting the Swamp Rabbits on the board first, but Atlanta countered three times to take the lead into the dressing room. Brodzinski’s team-leading 10th goal came at 11:38 of the first, blasting a one-timer on a Colton Young cross-ice past Atlanta goalie Ethan Haider to give the Swamp Rabbits a 1-0 lead (Young and Carter Savoie assisted). Atlanta went on a 4-0 scoring run over the next 15 minutes of game time, with three coming in the final minutes of the first frame. Anthony Firriolo tied the game for Atlanta when he crept off the blue line, took a drop pass from his Captain, Eric Neiley, and fired it off the post and past Swamp Rabbits starter Jacob Ingham to square the game at 1-1 with 4:21 left in the first (Neiley and Cody Sylvester assisted). The Gladiators then hit pay dirt twice in 26 seconds, with Patriks Marcinkevics firing a one-timer from a Firriolo pass across the faceoff dots to give Atlanta a 2-1 lead with 1:57 left (Firriolo and Dylan Carabia assisted). Less than half a minute later, Michael Marchesan took a turned-over puck and squeaked it past Ingham to push Atlanta’s lead to 3-1 with 1:31 left (Firriolo assisted).
Both teams traded blows in the second, but Atlanta maintained its three-goal advantage heading into the third. Easton Armstrong capped off Atlanta’s 4-0 run early in the second frame, finishing a one-timer off of a Zach Yoder pass, the latter forcing a turnover to give Atlanta a 4-1 lead at 5:58 of the second. The Swamp Rabbits’ power play got its first of two in the second to bring the game back within two thanks to Stuart Rolofs, who took a shot from the right side of the zone just inside the blue line that went straight in past Haider, cutting the Atlanta lead to 4-2 at 7:47 of the middle frame (Patrick Moynihan and Tyson Fawcett assisted). The Gladiators got one back with 6:00 remaining when Ryan Cranford emphatically banked home a Derek Topatigh rebound off of Ingham’s leg pad, re-establishing the three-goal cushion at 5-2 heading into the last 20 minutes (Topatigh and Dylan Carabia assisted). Ingham was relieved in net for the Swamp Rabbits after the second, replaced by Dryden McKay for the rest of the game.
Needing three goals minimum to perpetuate the game, the Swamp Rabbits got precisely that, starting with Bobby Russell. With 3:00 having passed in the third, Russell jumped off the blue line and redirected a Brent Pedersen backdoor pass with a tap-in past Haider, shrinking the deficit to 5-3 (Pedersen and Moynihan assisted). Exactly 4:15 later, Ben Poisson notched his first goal as a professional when he drove down the middle of the attacking zone and rifled a shot past Haider to bring the Swamp Rabbits within striking distance at 5-4 with 12:45 left in the game (Tate Singleton and Bobby Russell assisted). With 8:20 left in the game, Bryce Brodzinski drew a high stick from Anthony Firriolo, resulting in a double-minor power play for the Swamp Rabbits and a chance to tie. In the back end of the advantage, Brent Pedersen redirected Parker Berge’s blue-line shot past Haider, squaring the game with 4:54 left in regulation (Berge and Rolofs assisted). Singleton had a chance to end it for the Swamp Rabbits in regulation in the final seconds but was denied on a clear breakaway by Haider, forcing overtime.
The Swamp Rabbits had a chance to close out overtime on the power play but were stifled by Atlanta’s penalty kill. Eventually, with 1:50 left in OT, Gladiators Captain Eric Neiley drove McKay’s net and picked up his rebound, potting it to give Atlanta a 6-5 win and deny the Swamp Rabbits both points in the comeback.
Jacob Ingham didn’t receive a decision, stopping 29 of 34 shots in a start that lasted 40:00. Dryden McKay suffered the overtime defeat in 25:10 of relief, turning aside all but one of 14 shots (8-8-2-0).
The Swamp Rabbits continue their stretch of four games in five nights with a pair of home meetings against the Jacksonville Icemen with “Christmas Vacation Night,” presented by Crumbl, on Saturday, December 28th, and a dog-friendly game on Sunday, presented by Anytime Fitness, on December 29th. Puck drop for Saturday is at 7:05 p.m. EST, and Sunday is at 3:05 p.m. EST 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 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.
