JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Jake Flynn tied the game with 2:03 left in regulation to complete a comeback for the Greenville Swamp Rabbits, who, thanks to two goals from Colton Young and the game-winner from Brent Pedersen in the top of the fourth shootout, claimed the win against the Jacksonville Icemen, 5-4 past 67 minutes of hockey. The win gives the Swamp Rabbits two wins out of two games played in their current four-game road trip.
Icemen jumped out on a 3-0 run before the Swamp Rabbits answered to end the period. Derek Lodermeier kicked things off for the Icemen when an Ivan Chukarov shot made its way to Jacob Ingham, in net for the Swamp Rabbits. Ingham appeared to have the puck covered, but Lodermeier noticed the puck was loose and jabbed it past Ingham to give the Icemen a 1-0 lead at 7:35 of the first (Chukarov and Ty Cheveldayoff assisted).
Christopher Brown, the Icemen Captain, doubled his team’s lead 1:45 later when Logan Cockerill fed him a transition pass in the neutral zone entering the Swamp Rabbits third. Brown split the defense and fired a shot that went off of Ingham and in, giving Jacksonville a 2-0 lead at 9:20 left (Cockerill and Chukarov assisted). Moments later, Cooper Jones had a goal waved off due to a distinct kicking motion to put the puck in the net, but Brody Crane eventually got the third tally for the Icemen in the latter half of the frame.
With 5:49 left, Crane was sprung on a break by Garrett Van Whye, uncontested towards Ingham. Crane finished his attempt and tripled the hot Jacksonville start to 3-0 (Van Whye and Connor Russell assisted). Ingham was then removed from the Swamp Rabbits net and replaced by Dryden McKay. Shortly after the goalie swap, Colton Young ended the Icemen scoring run and got the Swamp Rabbits on the board. With 3:39 left in the first, Jake Flynn finished a complete lap around the attacking zone and dropped the puck off to Young on the left wall. Young let a snipe rip from the wing, blistering his shot over the shoulder of Matt Vernon manning the Icemen net to cut the deficit to 3-1 (Flynn and Carter Savoie assisted).
Brent Pedersen provided the only goal of the second frame, bringing the Swamp Rabbits within one in a period that showcased back-and-forth scoring chances. Pedersen eventually hit paydirt with 65 seconds left in the frame, burying a feed from in front Mason Emoff from behind the net in point blank range to bring the Swamp Rabbits within striking distance, trailing 3-2 entering the third (Emoff and Parker Berge assisted).
Jacksonville re-established their multi-goal lead early in the second, but the Swamp Rabbits mounted their comeback and found a way to force extra-curricular activity. On their only power play of the game, the Icemen kept the puck in zone thanks to Rob Calisti, who worked it down low to Chase Lang. Lang found Zach Jordan near the net and open, and Jordan tapped the puck past McKay to separate the Icemen with a 4-2 lead.
Down, but not out, Colton Young sparked a rally with his second goal of the game to pull the Swamp Rabbits back within one. With 12:15 left in the game, Parker Berge walked the blue line and rifled a long-range shot, deflected by Young in the slot, which arced over Vernon and in to make it a 4-3 game (Berge and Bryce Brodzinski assisted). Needing a goal late, the Swamp Rabbits got a boost from their young talent, with Jake Flynn stepping up in the moment. With 2:03 left, Flynn came close to the Icemen net, located a loose puck, and threaded it under the blocker of Vernon, squaring the game at 4-4 with his second of the year (Mason Emoff assisted). The remaining 2:03 of regulation wasn’t enough to determine a winner, prompting overtime for the fourth time this year for the Swamp Rabbits.
Both teams couldn’t solve the game in overtime, so a shootout was necessary to determine the winner. The division rivals traded blows in the first two rounds, with Colton Young and Bryce Brodzinski scoring, countered by Logan Cockerill and Brody Crane, respectively. Carter Savoie and Derek Lodermeier each couldn’t convert in the third round, prompting a sudden death round. In the top of the fourth, Brent Pedersen skated full bore towards Vernon’s net and buried his shot, therefore necessitating Davis Koch of Jacksonville to score to perpetuate the game. Koch was denied by McKay, who sealed the come-from-behind win for the Swamp Rabbits, 5-4 in the shootout.
Jacob Ingham didn’t register a decision, allowing three goals on nine shots in 14:11 of his start. Dryden McKay earned the win in relief, staving all but one of 14 tries on net in 52:49 of hockey, in addition to two of four shooters in the shootout (9-10-2-0).
The Swamp Rabbits continue their week-long road trip with a return to Orlando to rematch the Solar Bears. Puck drop on Tuesday, January 7th, is slated for 7:00 p.m. EST at the Kia Center.
With Greenville Swamp Rabbits release
Contact the photographer: Trina.Kirk@prohockeynews.com
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