GREENVILLE, SC – The Greenville Swamp Rabbits (22-35-7-1), proud ECHL affiliate of the New York Rangers and the AHL’s Hartford Wolf Pack, inserted some new faces into the lineup who paid dividends tonight against the Jacksonville Icemen (25-33-4-3). Greenville earned a 3-2 victory over the Icemen in a hard-hitting rivalry game to open a two-game set this weekend.
After a scoreless first period, Greenville ended up on the team’s third penalty kill of the night. The team killed off the man advantage situation and rookie forward Spencer Dorowicz bolted up the ice as Matt Johnson took control of the puck. The former Robert Morris University skater went in on a breakaway to score his first pro goal and break open the scoring in his professional debut. The Olds, AB native put his shot just under the glove of netminder Austin Lotz to push his new team to a lead they never relinquished just 3:28 into the second period.
The Icemen put 14 shots on net in the first period and went on to outshoot Greenville 28-21. Goaltender Ty Rimmer held down the fort for the club with 26 saves and earned his 13th victory of the season.
In the third period, the Swamp Rabbits rallied for a quick goal only 20 seconds after the opening faceoff. The Icemen had the puck behind their net and the Swamp Rabbits came with quick pressure. Evan Jasper and JT Henke forced a turnover behind the net and quickly put two shots toward the net. Jasper bat in the rebound to improve the Swamp Rabbits lead to 2-0.
Greenville had a third period power play turn sour in the third period. The Icemen blocked a shot and turned up the ice for a shorthanded opportunity. Matt Ustaski connected on a 2-on-1 pass from Tanner Eberle to jump back into the game. The shorthanded goal at 8:49 ended Rimmer’s bid for a shutout and made the game 2-1.
Another forward making his debut tonight would extend the lead back to two goals. Johno May from American International College trailed on a play into the offensive zone while his linemates Henke and Jasper battled in the corner. The puck was fed across to the rookie for a shot in the slot. The wrister from May redirected off a defender and into the net for his first career goal. May’s tally was also credited as the game-winning goal.
Late in the game with the net empty, the Icemen were able to tally one final goal in the last second. Justin Woods tallied the late goal but the Icemen would come up short to Greenville for the fourth time this season.
The teams will suit up again Saturday night at 7 p.m.
Follow us on Twitter @prohockeynews
You must be logged in to post a comment.