SWAMP RABBITS COLLAPSE IN THIRD PERIOD
Swamp Rabbits start hot, but Ghost Pirates score three straight from the second period on
By: Mark Binetti, Greenville Swamp Rabbits
(GREENVILLE, S.C.) – Quinn Olson rifled home a power play goal as part of a two-point night to give the Greenville Swamp Rabbits a lead after 20, but the Savannah Ghost Pirates rattled off three straight, including the game-winner with 12:40 left in regulation from Kyle Jeffers, to take a 4-2 win against the Swamp Rabbits on Sunday afternoon. The game was the first home game for the Swamp Rabbits in 2025.
Both teams traded strikes in the opening frame, with the Swamp Rabbits carrying the lead into the dressing room. Just 94 seconds into the game, Quinn Olson launched a “Hail Mary” up the ice to Bryce Brodzinski, who left the puck in an open area of the offensive zone while being draped by a defender. Kaleb Lawrence skated full bore into the puck and rifled it off the bar and in over Ghost Pirates goalie Keith Kinkaid, giving the Swamp Rabbits an early 1-0 lead. Moments later, at 6:00, the Swamp Rabbits tried to exit the zone, but Nathan Staios barely kept it in on a blue-line hustle. Staios then drove the net front, parallel to the goal line, and slipped the puck under Swamp Rabbits net-minder Dryden McKay, leveling the game at 1-1. Towards the end of the period, the Swamp Rabbits turned to special teams to break the deadlock, and it was Olson again finding himself on the offensive. With 4:29 left in the first, Stuart Rolofs connected with Olson on a cross-ice pass, with the latter burying his shot off the back bar and out to put the Swamp Rabbits on top, 2-1 entering the first (Rolofs and Berge assisted).
The Ghost Pirates countered with their own power play goal in the second, sparking a run of three straight goals in ultimately taking the win. With 10:18 left in the second, Ghost Pirates Captain Logan Drevitch was on the left side of the zone in position to be the beneficiary of a Devon Paliani rebound, burying his try to square the game at 2-2 (Paliani and Dennis Cesana assisted).
Savannah ultimately broke the tie and got the insurance to pull away with the win in the final frame. With 12:40 left in the game, the Swamp Rabbits defense turned the puck over up the right wall to get the puck out of their zone, leading the Ghost Pirates to go right back to the offensive. Kyle Jeffers was the beneficiary of a Liam Walsh rebound in the slot area, pushing it past McKay to give the Ghost Pirates their first lead at 3-2 (Walsh and Nick Granowicz assisted). The Swamp Rabbits hoped to get a spark with the extra attacker, and McKay pulled from the net, but Walsh got his second point of the period with a neutral zone shot into the empty cage with 42 seconds left, sealing a 4-2 Ghost Pirates win.
Dryden McKay stopped 36 of 39 shots in net, suffering the defeat (9-11-3-0).
The Swamp Rabbits are back in action this Friday, January 17th, against the South Carolina Stingrays. Puck drop for the first meeting of the New Year between the in-state rivals is slated for 7:05 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 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.
