SWAMP RABBITS BLAST GLADIATORS IN SEASON OPENER
SWAMP RABBITS BLAST GLADIATORS IN SEASON OPENER
Five different players score, paced by Gorman-Schandor-Shea line’s six points
By: Mark Binetti, Greenville Swamp Rabbits
GREENVILLE, SC – Brendan Gorman started a scoring depth onslaught with his first professional goal and centered a line with Hudson Schandor and Neil Shea that racked six points to pace the Greenville Swamp Rabbits to a 5-1 win against the Atlanta Gladiators on Opening Night, presented by Bon Secours St. Francis Health System.
Gorman’s milestone kicked things off halfway through the first period to give the Swamp Rabbits a 1-0 lead after one. At 10:11, Neil Shea’s forecheck started the sequence, leading to Hudson Schandor possessing the puck. Schandor snuck a pass to a streaking Gorman, who buried his chance past Gladiator’s goalie Ethan Haider to put the Swamp Rabbits up 1-0 after one. Owen Flores, manning the Swamp Rabbits net, turned aside all eight shots he saw in the opening 20 minutes.
Needing the “next” goal in a tight game, the Swamp Rabbits got it from the Shea-Gorman-Schandor connection. At 10:31 of the second, Gorman skated a half lap around the attacking zone and found Schandor, who deferred to a wide-open Shea. Shea finished with a bullet past Haider to double the lead to 2-0. Showcasing the scoring depth of the team, Blake Bennett scored 2:06 later for the 100th of his professional career, burying a Ryan McAllister behind the net feed from the left circle to make it 3-0 heading into the third (McAllister and Ryan O’Reilly assisted). Flores again stayed perfect, deflecting another six shots for 14 total saves through two periods.
The momentum carried into the third period, with the Swamp Rabbits stomping any threat of a comeback. Just 3:24 into the final frame, Jack Brackett added his name to the ledger when he deflected a Peter Tischke blue line strike past Haider to balloon the lead to 4-0 (Tischke and Josh Zinger assisted, the latter earning his first professional point). The Gladiators eventually solved Flores on the power play, with Mike McNamee forcing an awkward angle bounce from the goal line with 5:10 remaining in the game to cut the Swamp Rabbits lead to 4-1 (Ethan Strang and John Prokop assisted). Mike O’Leary had the last word on the scoresheet, rifling a shot from the far corner on a sharp angle to squeak it past Haider and lead the Swamp Rabbits to an eventual 5-1 win.
Owen Flores stopped all but one of 21 shots on net, securing his first win of the season (1-0-0-0).
The Swamp Rabbits transition to their first road test of the season against the in-state rival South Carolina Stingrays. Puck drop is slated for 6:05 p.m. at North Charleston Coliseum.
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.
