GREENVILLE, SC – The Greenville Swamp Rabbits (18-14-2-1), proud ECHL affiliate of the New York Rangers and the AHL’s Hartford Wolf Pack, emerged victorious Wednesday night by earning a monstrous 6-3 win over the Atlanta Gladiators. Greenville rallied behind three-point performances by Brandon Alderson and Tyler Brown to defeat their South Division rivals for the third time this season.
The Swamp Rabbits netted four straight goals between the first and second periods, scoring the first at 8:49 to tie the game. Trevor Gerling has been red hot at home, scoring six of his eight goals at the Bon Secours Wellness Arena. Tonight his goal came after a Swamp Rabbits power play to match Trevor Mingoia’s game opening tally.
Not long after, Greenville took the lead and never looked back. Joe Houk moved down the right wing after Brown and Alderson exchanged passes. The blue liner rang a shot off the post and into the net for his second goal in as many games. Greenville skated to the intermission with the 2-1 advantage. Alderson’s point-streak is now at 11 games and has earned 18 points (8 goals, 11 assists) in those games.
At the start of the second, it took off further. Less than four minutes into the stanza, Brown fed Tommy Thompson from below the goal line to tally his eighth goal of the season. Houk earned his second point of the game, grabbing the extra assist on the goal.
Maxime St-Cyr got in on the goal scoring action as well, netting his second of the season and first with the Swamp Rabbits 20:01 from the first Greenville goal. St-Cyr was set up by Desmond Bergin to tuck the shot just inside the post, making it 4-1 with more than half the game left to play. Bergin has notched assists in the last three games, earning 10 points (5 goals, 5 assists).
Justin Buzzeo would tip in his 11th of the season on a shot from Drew Baker to cut the lead in half. Less than two minutes later, the Swamp Rabbits saw a puck hit the twine for the fifth time. Troy Donnay let a hard shot hit the end boards and the carom came right back to Brown off the left side of the net. He completed his big night scoring for the second time this season and second career three-point game.
Daniel Vladar allowed five goals on 27 shots and exited the game after the second period. The rookie netminder and Boston Bruins draft pick was bested for only the second time this season. Jeff Malcolm earned his seventh win of the season after making 28 saves in net. The fourth year pro has not been beaten in regulation for the last three games.
Alderson recorded his third point at the start of the third period. The winger poke-checked the puck at center ice and came down the ice to score his team leading 11th goal of the season. The slap shot sailed into the net over the shoulder of Matt Ginn who came in relief. Ginn ended the game with eight saves after the first shot of the period sailed by him.
Atlanta would end the game with a power play goal in the third period, going 1-for-3 on the man advantage. The Swamp Rabbits power play was held at bay on their only two chances. Greenville has won every game this season when winning the shot battle. The team is 8-0-0-0 after outshooting the Glads 36-31.
Greenville returns for its second game this week on Friday night at 7 p.m. to begin a three-in-three. The Swamp Rabbits will host the Norfolk Admirals in the third meeting. The Swamp Rabbits have won both games this season and look to halt Norfolk’s three-game win streak.
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