DULITH, Ga – Cam Hausinger scored on the power play to tie the game up late in the first, but Alex Young’s pair of goals, the second coming with 3.5 seconds remaining in the second period, proved to be the difference as the Greenville Swamp Rabbits were defeated by the Atlanta Gladiators 2-1 in the rubber match of their three-in-three series.
In a departure from the first two games of the set, both teams found the net in the opening 20 minutes. Alex Young’s day started just 1:23 into regulation on a transition play, where Isak Walther found Cody Sylvester trailing into the Swamp Rabbits zone. Sylvester didn’t get a great handle of the puck, but got enough of it to guide it to Young, who also just got enough of it to pop it over Swamp Rabbits net-minder Isaiah Saville to give the Gladiators a 1-0 lead. With 5:49 left in the first, Remy Parker was assessed a match penalty for a slewfoot and ejected from the game, putting Atlanta on a five-minute major power play. Just moments in, however, Ryan Nolan was assessed a double-minor for high-sticking, negating the Gladiators power play and providing the Swamp Rabbits with a brief one of 38 seconds after four-on-four subsided. Utilizing all 38 seconds, the Swamp Rabbits found the back of the net, courtesy of Cam Hausinger. With 22.4 seconds remaining, Patrick Polino found him from the left wall in the slot, with Hausinger finishing on a backhander that clanked off the post and behind Atlanta goalie Ethan Haider, squaring the game at 1-1 (Polino and Parker Berge assisted).
It looked as though the middle frame wouldn’t produce any offense, but Alex Young flipped that script late in the period after the Swamp Rabbits were whistled for icing. The faceoff came with 7.8 seconds remaining in the frame, and was won by Young, who shook off his defender, popped to the slot, and rifled a Chad Nychuk pass for a one-timer over Saville’s shoulder, giving the Gladiators a 2-1 lead with 3.5 to go in the second. The Swamp Rabbits couldn’t find an answer in the third period, even with an extra attacker in lieu of Saville manning the net, leading to a Gladiators 2-1 win in the rubber match of their three-in-three.
Isaiah Saville turned aside 25 of 27 shots, suffering the narrow defeat (4-5-0-0).
The Swamp Rabbits now return home for another three-in-three, beginning with a one-off showdown against the Florida Everblades. Puck drop at Bon Secours Wellness Arena on Friday, January 23rd, is slated for 7:05 p.m. EST.
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