JACKSONVILLE, FLA –The Greenville Swamp Rabbits extended their road winning streak to five consecutive games behind a 4-2 victory against the Jacksonville Icemen on Wednesday night. After surrendering a 2-0 lead in the third period, Greenville responded with two late strikes en route to the victory.
Only 49 seconds into the contest, the Swamp Rabbits drew first blood to grab a 1-0 advantage. From beneath the goal line, Patrick Bajkov banked the puck off Icemen goaltender Charles Williams and into the cage. Bajkov’s 14th goal of the campaign stood as the first period’s lone mark.
Greenville scored again in the second period’s opening minute to double their margin to 2-0. On the power play, Matt Bradley blasted home his 14th goal of the season from the left circle at 58 seconds. Greenville finished the night 1-for-3 on the power play and 3-for-4 on the penalty kill.
Leading 2-0 in the final period, Jacksonville stormed back with two goals separated by only 80 seconds. First, Derek Lodermeirer redirected a center point blast from Ryker Killins at 4:34 to cut the Icemen deficit in half. Next, Christopher Brown buried the equalizer into an empty net after a turnover behind the Greenville cage.
At 13:56, Samuel Jardine hit paydirt to reclaim Greenville’s lead. On a center point drive, Jardine beat Williams bar-down for his third goal of the campaign and the eventual game-winner. Bajkov hit the empty net with 1:11 remaining to complete the Swamp Rabbits’ dramatic 4-2 victory.
Final shots totaled 24-20 Jacksonville after 60 minutes. The Swamp Rabbits completed their four-game series against the Icemen with a 2-1-1-0 record and remain 2nd in the Eastern Conference.
The Greenville Swamp Rabbits return to action on Friday, May 7th to begin a three-game set with the Orlando Solar Bears. Puck drop at the Amway Center is scheduled for 7 p.m.
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