BY: Mark Shelley, Greenville Swamp Rabbits
GREENVILLE, SC – Nikita Pavlychev’s double-overtime winner and John Lethemon’s 56-save performance lifted the Greenville Swamp Rabbits to a 4-3 Game 5 victory over the Florida Everblades on Saturday night at Bon Secours Wellness Arena, forcing a Game 6 on Monday night.
GAME SHEET: Click here
|
1st |
2nd | 3rd | 2OT |
Final |
|
|
GVL |
0 | 0 | 3 | 1 |
4 |
|
FLA |
1 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
3 |
After a back-and-forth opening to the game, the Everblades scored the opening goal of the game, a power-play strike, as Stefan Leblanc scored his second of the series at 15:14.
SECOND PERIOD
Greenville was forced to kill another penalty in the second but saw the Everblades net a second goal, as Matteo Gennaro scored his fourth of the series at the 14:29 mark.
Greenville snapped its scoring drought in the third as Max Zimmer fed Johnny Coughlin on the back post at 8:52. Shortly after, at 10:37, Blake Winiecki scored another Florida power-play goal for the 3-1 lead. Then, at 14:02, Ayden MacDonald scored his second of the series to bring the Rabbits into a 3-2 deficit. Then, at 18:49, after a MacDonald shot hit the post, Liam Pecararo tied the game at 3-3, forcing the overtime period.
FIRST OVERTIME
After the first overtime period yielded no change in the scoring, the two sides headed to the second extra frame. At 8:51 in the second overtime, Greenville’s Nikita Pavlychev forced Game 6 after firing a rebound into the Florida net.
At the end of the night, Swamp Rabbits goaltender John Lethemon denied 56 of 59 Florida shots for his second postseason victory.
WITH THE WIN…
With the win, the Swamp Rabbits close the series gap to 3-2 in the best-of-seven series against the Everblades.
The Swamp Rabbits and the Everblades return to the ice on Monday night at Hertz Arena in Estero, FL, for Game 6 at 7:30 p.m.
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
ABOUT US
Acquired by Spire Sports + Entertainment (SS+E) in 2020, the Greenville Swamp Rabbits hockey team has 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 proud affiliates of the NHL’s Florida Panthers and AHL’s Charlotte Checkers. Greenville is a member of the ECHL, Premier ‘AA’ Hockey.
