BY: Mark Shelley, Greenville Swamp Rabbits
GREENVILLE, S.C. – Despite a late tying goal by Dallas Gerads, the Greenville Swamp Rabbits fell 4-3 in the shootout to the Atlanta Gladiators on Friday night at Bon Secours Wellness Arena.
GAME SHEET: https://bit.ly/3JUnaT7
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1st | 2nd | 3rd | SO | Final |
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GVL |
1 | 1 | 1 | xxx |
3 |
| SC | 0 | 1 | 2 | xxx |
4 |
Both sides came out hot in the first period. However, the Swamp Rabbits had momentum on their side as they outshot the Gladiators 13-11. Ethan Somoza found Anthony Rinaldi wide open on the back post at the 18:11 mark, as Rinaldi buried the puck in the back of the net and created the 1-0 scoreline that carried into the second frame.
SECOND PERIOD
In the second period, Atlanta’s Carlos Fornaris put the Gladiators on the board and tied the game at the 4:32 mark. However, the score did not remain tied for long, as Somoza struck at 10:55, reestablishing the Greenville lead with his first career goal.
Atlanta was able to turn the tide with two goals in quick succession. Carlos Fornaris scored his second of the game at the 8:35 mark on a long shot that found the back of the net. Peter Bates added another goal just 0:43 later, creating the first Gladiators’ lead of the night. Dallas Gerads scored an equalizer with just 12.7 remaining, sending the game to overtime with his fourth goal in the last seven games.
OVERTIME
An intense overtime period saw nine combined shots; however, stellar goaltending kept the teams scoreless. Finally, the Gladiators capitalized in the shootout as Derek Nesbitt, and Cody Sylvester converted on their chances, giving the Gladiators a 4-3 victory.
With the loss, the Swamp Rabbits fall to 28-26-5-4 while the Gladiators improve to 41-20-3-1.
The Rabbits remain at home to take on the Gladiators Saturday night before traveling to Duluth, GA, to finish the series Sunday afternoon.
Swamp Rabbits Single Game Tickets are on sale now! For more information or to secure your seats today, call 864-674-PUCK (7825) or email INFO@SwampRabbits.com
