GREENVILLE, S.C. – Carter Savoie’s empty-netter proved to be the difference late in a tumultuous showdown, and along with Dante Sheriff’s debut goal, Tim Lovell’s first goal as a North American professional, and Isaiah Saville’s 27 saves, helped the Greenville Swamp Rabbits to a 3-2 win over the Orlando Solar Bears on Saturday. The win gives the Swamp Rabbits four straight dating back to October 31st.
For a fourth time in five games, the Swamp Rabbits and their opponent left the opening period scoreless. Isaiah Saville turned away nine shots for the Swamp Rabbits, while Jon Gillies staved off all eight he faced for Orlando. Gillies was removed from the game after the first period, prompting Harrison Meneghin to take over goaltending for Orlando for the rest of the game.
Tim Lovell finally broke the deadlock for the Swamp Rabbits in the opening minute of the second frame. Just 52 seconds in, Tate Singleton rifled a shot from the far side of the zone that was turned away by Meneghin. Lovell popped off the blue line and slammed a fluttering shot past Meneghin’s blocker on the left to give the Swamp Rabbits a 1-0 lead (Singleton and Hudson Schandor assisted).
Both teams traded blows in the final period, with the Swamp Rabbits keeping Orlando at bay. Dante Sheriff, in his Swamp Rabbits debut, took the hit to make a play to the blue line, with Parker Berge firing a shot that whizzed behind the net. Sheriff picked up the rebound, circled to the slot, and fired it himself, finishing with a snipe over Meneghin’s shoulder to give the Swamp Rabbits a 2-0 lead with 12:53 left in the game. Over two minutes later, Connor Kurth found a burst of speed, separated from his defender, and wrapped around on Saville’s net to get Orlando on the board, halving the Swamp Rabbits lead to 2-1 with 10:46 left to play (Tony Follmer had the lone assist). With Meneghin pulled for the extra attacker, Carter Savoie took unselfish passing and buzzed to the empty Solar Bears net, expanding the lead to 3-1 with 2:22 remaining (Keaton Mastrodonato and Josh Atkinson assisted). However, Orlando found life late: with 24 seconds remaining, Aaron Luchuk slipped the puck past Saville with Meneghin on the bench for the extra attacker, bringing it back to a one-goal game at 3-2 (Chris Harpur and Tyler Drevitch assisted). The Swamp Rabbits held on in the final seconds, securing their fourth straight win.
Isaiah Saville stopped 27 of 29 in the win, his third straight win in as many starts (3-1-0-0).
The Swamp Rabbits now gear up for a three-game series against the Florida Everblades, beginning with a Wednesday morning showdown on November 12th. Puck drop is slated for 10:35 am on the “School Day Game”, presented by AFL. The game will be broadcast on Fox Carolina, a special presentation of Palmetto Sports + Entertainment.
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