Swamp Rabbits hit the halfway point of the season
BY: Jordan Kuhn, Greenville Swamp Rabbits
GREENVILLE, SC – The Greenville Swamp Rabbits rang in the new year on a bus heading home from a loss in Cincinnati in which head coach Kevin Kerr lauded his team for having played one of its best 60-minute efforts in the last month. The Swamp Rabbits had the lead, and went into the third period tied, but one costly mistake led to the game-winning goal.
The Swamp Rabbits returned home after a short respite on New Year’s Day. The struggling Norfolk Admirals came to town on Thursday night, and the Swamp Rabbits completely shut them down. Ryan Bednard made 28 saves, and Adam Rockwood posted a three-point effort to lead the offense in the win.
Friday, the Swamp Rabbits braced for Norfolk’s best, and found themselves tied at one after the first period. Michael Pelech started the scoring, but Charlie O’Connor scored on a penalty shot to tie it up. Thanks to Mason Baptista‘s three points in the second period, Greenville pulled away, and held off a Norfolk surge to pick up the 5-3 win.
Sunday, the Florida Everblades rolled into the Upstate having swept the South Carolina Stingrays over the last two games. A game that featured five lead changes eventually ended with the Everblades coming away with the win, but it came with a journey.
Down 4-3 heading into the third period, the Swamp Rabbits took 19 minutes and 56 seconds to get the equalizer, earn a standings point, and get the game to overtime. Patrick Bajkov scored his second goal of the game on a rebound to get the game to overtime, but John McCarron ended the game just over two minutes into overtime.
12/31 at Cincinnati Cyclones – L 3-2
1/2 vs Norfolk Admirals – W 3-0
1/3 vs Norfolk Admirals – W 5-3
1/5 vs Florida Everblades – O 5-4
UPCOMING GAMES
Greenville Swamp Rabbits at Atlanta Gladiators
Thursday, January 9 – 7:05 p.m.
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Greenville Swamp Rabbits vs Florida Everblades
DAVE & BUSTER’S NIGHT
Friday, January 10 – 7:05 p.m.
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Greenville Swamp Rabbits vs South Carolina Stingrays
POSTGAME SKATE
Sunday, January 12 – 3:05 p.m.
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PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Mason Baptista – 4 GP | 3 G – 3 A – 6 P
The 29-year-old forward posted points in three of four games this past week, including two multi-point efforts. His two-point game powered the offense in Cincinnati, and his three-point effort against Norfolk on Friday helped cement the win as he was part of all of the scoring in the second period. Baptista has points in eight of his last ten games.
RABBIT TAILS
- Adam Rockwood has turned his season around in short order. The 24-year-old forward is riding a four-game point streak with two goals and four assists inclusive. He has points in eight of his last ten games.
- The Swamp Rabbits have a .781 points percentage when scoring the first goal.
- Greenville has points in nine of 13 one-goal games. Seven of those nine games are wins.
- Patrick Bajkov‘s two goals have put him into a tie for sixth in league goal scoring (15).
- Ryan Bednard picked up his first professional shutout on Thursday night against the Norfolk Admirals. It was the fourth time this season that he has allowed one or fewer goals in a game.
SOUTH DIVISION STANDINGS
- South Carolina Stingrays (24-4-4) – 52 pts
- Florida Everblades (22-8-4) – 48 pts
- Greenville Swamp Rabbits (17-17-2) – 36 pts
- Orlando Solar Bears (13-14-5) – 31 pts
- Atlanta Gladiators (14-17-0) – 28 pts
- Norfolk Admirals (10-22-4) – 24 pts
- Jacksonville Icemen (10-18-4) – 24 pts
*standings as of 10:00 a.m. on January 6, 2020
