ICEMEN STRIKE TWICE IN FINAL MINUTE TO STEAL WIN FROM SWAMP RABBITS
Cockerill ties it with 50 seconds left, Martin stuns with winner with 22.5 to play
BY: Mark Binetti, Greenville Swamp Rabbits
GREENVILLE, SC – Josh Zary scored his first professional goal and Keaton Mastrodonato hit pay dirt on the power play, but the Jacksonville Icemen struck twice in the final minute, including Craig Martin’s winner with 22.5 to play, to steal a win from the Greenville Swamp Rabbits 3-2 on Sunday afternoon. The loss drops the Swamp Rabbits elimination number to 14 with 11 games to go.
The Swamp Rabbits jumped on the board first, carrying a lead into the intermission on a career milestone. Just 2:28 into the game, Josh Zary notched his first professional goal, tapping a rebound created off a John Parker-Jones redirect past Topias Leinonen to give the Swamp Rabbits a 1-0 lead (Parker-Jones and Cole Fraser assisted).
Jacksonville halved the game in the second, but were once again answered heading into the final stanza. With 8:23 to play, Dave Jankowski snuck behind the Swamp Rabbits defense on a breakaway and rifled a shot that bounced off the crossbar, off Swamp Rabbits goaltender Isaiah Saville, and in to tie the game at 1-1 (Holden Wale and Taos Jordan assisted). However, the Swamp Rabbits power play, which came into the game 0/15 against the Icemen, found a way to break through late to snag the lead right back. With 12.2 seconds to go, Neil Shea found Denis Smirnov in the slot for a shot, which was kicked away by Leinonen to the left side. Keaton Mastrodonato pounced on the rebound and buried his team-leading 21st goal of the year to put the Swamp Rabbits ahead 2-1.
The Swamp Rabbits were less than two minutes away from the win, but the Icemen went to the power play with 90 seconds left, and in addition to pulling Leinonen from his net for the extra attacker, created a six-on-four advantage. It paid off: with 50.3 seconds left, Aidan Fulp rifled a blue line shot through traffic that was deflected by Logan Cockerill over Saville’s shoulder, tying the game at 2-2 (Fulp and Will Hillman assisted). Then with 22.5 seconds remaining, Jed Pietila sprung Craig Martin through the neutral zone on a two-on-one. He elected to shoot from the left side, wiring a wrister over Saville’s blocker shoulder to give the Icemen a 3-2 lead. The Swamp Rabbits couldn’t muster a tying strike in the final 22.5 seconds, leading to the Icemen stealing a 3-2 win.
Isaiah Saville stopped 36 of 39 shots in the defeat (8-12-2-1).
The Swamp Rabbits continue a five-game-in-seven-day stretch, squaring off against the Savannah Ghost Pirates on Tuesday, March 31st. Puck drop at Bon Secours Wellness Arena is slated for 7:05 p.m. EST.
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.
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