SWAMP RABBITS GET FIRST HOME WIN
SAVOIE’S THREE-POINT NIGHT DRIVES SWAMP RABBITS TO FIRST HOME WIN
Saville stops 32, De Jong nets first pro goal in win over Solar Bears
By: Mark Binetti, Greenville Swamp Rabbits
(GREENVILLE, S.C.) – Carter Savoie notched a pair of goals, including the game-winner in the third period, and an assist, Tristan De Jong scored his first professional goal, and Isaiah Saville turned aside all but two of 34 shots on net as the Greenville Swamp Rabbits beat the Orlando Solar Bears by a 3-2 score on Friday night. The win gives the Swamp Rabbits their first on home ice this season.
For a fourth time in six games, the Swamp Rabbits struck first in what ultimately was a back-and-forth opening frame. At 4:59, Tristan De Jong netted his first goal as a professional when a Carter Savoie shot banked off of Keaton Mastrodonato and in an open area near the Solar Bears net. De Jong skated in off the blue line and backhanded it past Harrison Meneghin, giving the Swamp Rabbits a 1-0 lead. Just after the midway point of the frame, Alex Tonge broke the Swamp Rabbits penalty killing streak at 11 straight over five games and evened things up. With 6:55 left in the period, Tonge broke up from the left on Isaiah Saville and rolled the puck past his glove and in, squaring the game at 1-1 with a power play marker (Spencer Kersten and Jarid Lukosevicius assisted). Carter Savoie answered 79 seconds later on the first Swamp Rabbits power play, blasting a howitzer of a one-timer from the right off of a Tim Lovell feed to put the Swamp Rabbits back in front at 2-1 with 5:36 left (Lovell and Tate Singleton assisted).
Up to this point in the season, the Swamp Rabbits had yet to hold a multi-goal lead. That changed with 6:04 left in the game when Savoie notched his third point, forcing a steal on the attacking blue line and finishing with a five hole slip past Meneghin to expand the lead to 3-1. However, Milo Roelens got one back for Orlando 1:54 later following a faceoff win and a physical sequence off the wall. He potted a rebound off of a net-front feed to slash the deficit to 3-2 with 4:10 left (Aaron Luchuk and Connor Kurth assisted). Towards the end of the game, the Solar Bears pulled Meneghin for the extra skater, but the Swamp Rabbits, led by Saville in net, stayed the course and earned their first win on home ice.
Isaiah Saville picked up his first win as a Swamp Rabbit, stopping 32 of 34 shots (1-1-0-0).
The Swamp Rabbits close out Halloween Weekend with a third matchup in as many weeks against the in-state rival South Carolina Stingrays. Puck drop at Bon Secours Wellness Arena is slated for 7:05 p.m. EST on November 1st.
About the Greenville Swamp Rabbits …
Acquired by Spire Sports + Entertainment (SS+E) in 2020, the Greenville Swamp Rabbits hockey team have 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 a member of the ECHL, Premier ‘AA’ Hockey League.
