Grando’s four-point night, powered by a hat trick, downs Swamp Rabbits; the team goes 2-1-1-0 in four games.
(JACKSONVILLE, Fla.) – Chris Grando notched a hat trick and an assist in the first two periods of the game to give the Jacksonville Icemen a hot start, downing the Greenville Swamp Rabbits by a 5-2 score on Wednesday night. The loss ends a four-game road trip for the Swamp Rabbits, who finished their swing with a 2-1-1-0 record.
Much like their earlier showdown in the trip, the Icemen jumped out to an early multi-goal lead. Chris Grando paced the Icemen with both ignitions of the goal lamp, beginning with a wraparound on the near post of Jacob Ingham, in net for the Swamp Rabbits. Just 4:12 into the game, Grando took the puck from behind the net and squeaked it past Ingham, putting Jacksonville up 1-0 (Garrett Van Whye and Olivier Nadeau assisted). Just 3:20 later, Grando was at it again following a blocker save by Ingham on one of his three first-period shots. He followed up his rebound and slipped it past Ingham on his blocker side of the net, doubling the lead to 2-0 for the Icemen at 7:32 of the first (Van Whye had the lone assist).
The Swamp Rabbits got on the board in the second, but Jacksonville doubled its goal output to maintain a three-goal lead heading into the third. On the game’s first Swamp Rabbits power play, Chris Grando broke up the ice on a shorthanded two-on-one rush. Grando elected to hang on a shoot, beating Ingham off the post and in to complete his hat trick and give the Icemen a 3-0 lead at 3:51 of the second (Ivan Chukarov assisted). Precisely 27 seconds later, on the same power play, the Swamp Rabbits found a response in transition. At 4:18, Colton Young started a sequence with Bryce Brodzinski from neutral ice into the Icemen zone, with Brodzinski holding court and control. Brodzinski slipped it through traffic to the slot and found Carter Savoie, who buried his chance past Icemen goalie Matt Vernon to cut the deficit to 3-1. Jacksonville added a fourth when Ingham stick-checked a puck in front of his net, but it was collected by Olivier Nadeau, slipping it by Ingham to make it a 4-1 Icemen lead with 5:23 left in the frame (Van Whye and Grando assisted).
Both teams traded one more each in the final frame before Jacksonville won. Zach Jordan scored on a faceoff with 5:17 left in the game, firing a shot after a few touches off a body and past Ingham, ballooning the Icemen lead to 5-1 (Brody Crane and Derek Lodermeier assisted). Off the ensuing center ice draw, Mikael Robidoux was called for a cross check that put the Swamp Rabbits to their second penalty kill, but the Swamp Rabbits found a late marker despite the disadvantage. With 4:47 remaining, 30 seconds after Jacksonville scored, Parker Berge and Austin Saint went two-on-one, with Berge dishing to Saint for his second shorthanded strike of the season, bringing the game to its 5-2 finish in favor of the Icemen.
Jacob Ingham was defeated on the trip in his third start of four, turning away 33 of 38 shots (5-4-0-1). The Swamp Rabbits finished the road trip 2-1-1-0 against Orlando (1-0-1-0) and Jacksonville (1-1-0-0).
The Swamp Rabbits now transition their five-games-in-six-nights stretch back home for a “three-in-three,” beginning with a showdown against the in-state rival South Carolina Stingrays. Puck drop for Friday, January 10th, is slated for 7:05 p.m. EST at Bon Secours Wellness Arena. Friday’s game is our annual “Stick It To Cancer Night,” presented by Bon Secours. It features a specialty lavender jersey that will be auctioned off after the game, with proceeds benefitting the Bon Secours St. Francis Foundation.
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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