GREENVILLE, SC – The Greenville Swamp Rabbits (36-24-4-1), proud ECHL affiliate of the New York Rangers and the AHL’s Hartford Wolf Pack, battled back to score three goals in the third period to top the Indy Fuel 5-4 at the Bon Secours Wellness Arena Friday night. Greenville’s final goal was recorded by Captain Bretton Cameron with less than three minutes remaining in the contest and held up as the game-winning tally.
Matt Prapavessis and Ahti Oksanen connected for the opening tally of the third period. The blue liner moved into the slot and timed Oksanen’s feed from across the slot. The rookie laced the pass across for a one-timed shot 9:45 into the final period, resulting in Prapavessis’ seventh goal of the year. Tristan King earned the secondary assist on the play to tally a point against his former team.
Quickly following was Spiro Goulakos, again capitalizing off Oksanen’s vision. On the rush, the Finnish forward sailed a pass to the Montreal, QC native right in the high slot. The defenseman’s one timer was fired into the net to tie the game at 11:26 of the third period and was his 15th goal of the season.
Cameron completed the cycle. The veteran forward reacted to a deflected pass by Angelo Miceli, chasing it to the right circle. A quick turning shot rose up and into the top right corner of the net. Cameron’s record year continues as the forward reached the 20 goal mark for the first time in his professional career. The game winner is the fourth of the season for seventh year pro and the 14th of his career.
The offense for Greenville completely controlled the pace of the first period, starting with scoring on the first shot of the night. Matt Johnson deflected his sixth goal of the season into the net off Desmond Bergin’s shot from the blue line. The redirection slipped through the legs of goaltender Jake Hildebrand 1:10 into the contest.
The lead was short lived as the Fuel tallied a goal off a rebound a little more than a minute later. Alex Wideman connected for his 19th goal of the year and the first tally of a three-point night for the second year pro. Despite a plethora of shots, the Swamp Rabbits could not find the net again in the first period after Johnson’s tally.
Indy capitalized on their only power play of the game to begin the second period. Matt Rupert deflected a shot from Paul Zanette at the side of the net, tilting the ice in the Fuel’s favor. The Swamp Rabbits response came four minutes later. Adam Phillips gathered the puck in the corner and as he turned the puck up the boards, stumbled and fell to the ice. Cameron was there to grab the loose puck and begin a tick-tac-toe passing play from Angelo Miceli to Brandon Alderson on the right side of the net. The fourth-year pro bat the puck in for his 21st goal of the season and a 2-2 tie.
Indy would grab two more goals in the second period and take a 4-2 advantage into the third period. Wideman tallied his second of the game and assisted on Robin Press’ goal at 13:52. Zanette recorded a pair of assists in the game in his return to the Upstate.
Goaltender Jeff Malcolm earned his 13th win of the season, making 20 saves against the Fuel. Hildebrand suffered his 20th loss this year after a 33-save night.
The Swamp Rabbits and Fuel meet again Saturday night at 7 p.m. Greenville improved their hold of second place in the South Division but are still close with South Carolina, Cincinnati, and Orlando. The Solar Bears are two points behind in third place while South Carolina trails the Swamp Rabbits by four points in fifth place.
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