Swamp Rabbits play three times before holiday break
BY: Jordan Kuhns, Greenville Swamp Rabbits
GREENVILLE, SC – This past weekend pitted the Greenville Swamp Rabbits against the top two teams in the South Division. In fact, six of the past seven games have put those top teams against Greenville, and it has been a proving ground for the team, nearing the halfway point of the season.
The Florida Everblades came to town riding an extended standings point streak, and at the end of their trip to the Upstate, continued it. Jamie Phillips posted a 23-save shutout, and the ‘Blades picked up two points from their leading scorer Joe Cox en route to the win in a game that only lasted two hours and five minutes.
Friday night’s game saw a return to form, making it difficult on the visiting Everblades. Down 1-0, fan-favorite Travis Howe started the comeback. A fight with Nate Perkovich started the momentum slide, and his hard work in the offensive zone led to Chris Izmirlian scoring the game-tying goal. The Swamp Rabbits tied the game at two thanks to Thomas Ebbing, but a late power-play goal by Perkovich gave the ‘Blades the lead for good and spoiled the party at home.
Looking to rebound against the South Carolina Stingrays on Saturday, Greenville ran into a buzzsaw. The Stingrays scored on two of 12 shots fired on goal and outshot the Swamp Rabbits 12-3 in the first period. Will Merchant and Michael Pelech got Greenville within a goal in the second period as the momentum shifted hard, but South Carolina played aggressively the rest of the way, and picked up two quick, late goals in the second period, and shut down the Swamp Rabbits the rest of the way.
12/13 vs. Florida Everblades – L 3-0
12/14 vs. Florida Everblades – L 4-2
12/15 vs. South Carolina Stingrays – L 6-2
PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Thomas Ebbing – 3 GP | 1 G – 1 A – 2 P
For the second week in a row, forward Thomas Ebbing put up points and was noticeably the team’s best player in the three games. He showed tremendous hand-eye coordination on his goal that tied the game on Friday night and added an assist on Will Merchant’s tally on Saturday that got the Swamp Rabbits on the board. Ebbing now has points in five of his last seven games, with two goals and six assists in that span.
RABBIT TAILS
- The Greenville Swamp Rabbits continue to have played the most games in the ECHL, and far-and-away the most in the South Division. Their 30 games played are tied with the Allen Americans for the most in the ECHL, and two teams in the South Division have played only 24 games—Orlando and Atlanta.
- Thanks to fans, sponsors, staff, and players, the Greenville Swamp Rabbits organization collected 2,312 stuffed animals, all to be donated to Toys for Tots, and to benefit underprivileged children in the Upstate area.
- Johno May continues to light up the ECHL on a regular basis. The 25-year-old forward ranks eighth in ECHL scoring with 26 points, third in overall rookie scoring, tied for the most rookie goals with 14, and third in overall power play goals with 6.
- Forward Travis Howe made his return from the AHL count. Not only did he add an assist on Friday, he got into two fights, giving him nine major penalties, good for second-most in the league, and 119 penalty minutes, also good for second in the league.
- The Swamp Rabbits have the fourth-most power play goals scored in the ECHL (21). They own the 12th-best success percentage in the league at 17.6%.
UPCOMING GAMES
- Wednesday, December 19 | at Atlanta Gladiators
- Friday, December 21 | vs. South Carolina Stingrays | 7:00 p.m. – Ugly Sweater Night
- Saturday, December 22 | vs. South Carolina Stingrays | 7:00 p.m. – Underwear Toss
SOUTH DIVISION STANDINGS
- Florida Everblades (16-6-4) – 36 pts
- South Carolina Stingrays (16-11-0) – 32 pts
- Jacksonville Icemen (15-10-1) – 31 pts
- Orlando Solar Bears (13-9-2) – 28 pts
- Norfolk Admirals (12-13-2) – 26 pts
- Greenville Swamp Rabbits (10-17-3) – 23 pts
- Atlanta Gladiators (5-13-6) – 16 pts
*standings as of 10:00 a.m. on December 17, 2018
