ORLANDO, Fla. – Tanner Eberle scored twice as part of a three-point night, pacing four other mutli-point performers in leading the Greenville Swamp Rabbits to a 5-3 win over the Orlando Solar Bears in Game 4 of the South Division Semifinals on Saturday night. The late night win gives the Swamp Rabbits another split of the series, now tied at 2-2 coming into Game 5 on Sunday.
Eberle’s night started 72 second into the game when he finished a wrap around from behind the Orlando net, squeaking a puck under the leg of Orlando goalie Evan Fitzpatrick to give the Swamp Rabbits a 1-0 lead (Ben Freeman and Max Martin assisted). Greenville earned their first power play moments later and received some breathing room from Colton Young. At 6:58, Brett Kemp zipped into the Orlando zone, and found Young between the hashmarks from behind the net. Young rifled his shot past Fitzpatrick’s blocker, doubling the Swamp Rabbits lead to 2-0 (Kemp and Brannon McManus assisted).
Spencer Kersten halved the Swamp Rabbits lead past the midway point of the second period. With 6:54 left in the second, Darik Angeli to a hit to make a pass to Kersten at the Swamp Rabbits blue line, dishing to Kersten in stride. Kersten fired a laser under the blocker of Swamp Rabbits net-minder Luke Richardson, putting Orlando down 2-1 (Angeli and Alex Frye assisted). Eberle hit paydirt again in the final minute of the second, re-establishing the Greenville multi-goal lead. With 31 seconds remaining, Eberle took a Colton Young pass, pirouetted off of contact from an aggressor, hacked the puck by another attacker, and rifled a shot from the slot area past Fitzpatrick to push the Swamp Rabbits to a 3-1 lead heading into the third period (Young and Josh McKechney assisted).
The Swamp Rabbits came out blazing in the third, beginning with Ethan Somoza’s first of the playoffs. Just 2:05 into the final period, Brannon McManus created a two-on-one break, and dished to Somoza past a diving defender. Somoza faked forehand and finished back-hand off the back bar to balloon the Swamp Rabbits lead to 4-1. Ben Freeman followed up with a second Swamp Rabbits power play goal, stuffing a rebound through the blocker side of Fitzpatrick to expand the score to 5-1 for Greenville at 4:43 of the third (Eberle and Kemp assisted). Orlando found quick offense, scoring twice in 46 seconds to make it a two-goal game again. Spencer Kersten netted his second of the game with a shot that whizzed under the bar on the power play from the right side of the zone, making it a 5-2 hockey game at 8:56 (Marc-Andre Gaudet and Evan Fitzpatrick assisted). Within the minute, Jaydon Dureau found Jesse Jacques from behind the net in the slot area, and Jacques, uncontested, finished a try past Richardson to cut the Swamp Rabbits lead to 5-3 with 10:18 left in the game. The Swamp Rabbits continued to weather Orlando’s pressure, and came out with a 5-3 win to even the series at 2-2.
Luke Richardson, making his first start of the series in his second appearance, stopped 33 of 36 shots for the win (2-0-0).
The Swamp Rabbits look to break a 2-2 series and continue the South Division Semifinals with Game 5 tomorrow night at the Kia Center, with puck drop slated for 7:00 p.m. EST.
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