GREENVILLE, SC – The Greenville Swamp Rabbits (35-21-4-1), proud ECHL affiliate of the New York Rangers and the AHL’s Hartford Wolf Pack, dug deep in front of a record setting 8,742 fans at the Bon Secours Wellness Arena to earn a 5-2 victory against the Florida Everblades (38-14-2-3) Friday night. The South Division leaders carried a 2-1 lead into the final period but four unanswered Greenville tallies earned the Swamp Rabbits a third consecutive victory.
The Swamp Rabbits collected four third period goals to overtake the Everblades. Brandon Alderson began the shootout period with a power play tally. The winger muscled his 20th goal of the season through the body of Everblades goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic to tie the contest at 2-2 just over a minute into the final period.
Eight minutes later the Swamp Rabbits would turn a sprawling save by Brandon Halverson up the ice. Bretton Cameron caught the puck on the right wing and lobbed the puck down the ice for Joe Houk. The defenseman chased down the breakaway feed and avoided Nedeljkovic who dove out to the slot attempting a poke check. The third-year blue liner walked around the rookie and tallied his 16th goal of the year. The tally held up as the game winner and was one of three points for Houk in the game.
Tristan King added another tally with a little over five minutes left in the game on a beautiful pass. Defenseman Matt Prapavessis sent the puck across the ice to the left side of the crease, just far enough in front of King to redirect the cross behind the goal line. King’s ninth of the season added insurance to the game.
A last ditch effort by the Everblades put their goaltender on the bench and put Halverson on the hot seat for Greenville. The netminder stayed calm, and shut down the goalmouth to record his fourth win of the year. The rookie bested his 2014 NHL Draft counterpart by making 38 saves. Nedeljkovic suffered his second consecutive defeat in net since his reassignment from Charlotte.
Angelo Miceli was also in on three goals on the night, potting Greenville’s first tally of the game 41 seconds into the second period. The center fired the shot into the top right corner of the net to tie the game at the time. Greenville’s leading scorer added another tally in the third period, sealing the night with an empty net goal. The tally with only 41 seconds left in the contest, iced the game in favor of the Swamp Rabbits.
In the first period, the Everblades connected on the first goal despite solid chances from the Swamp Rabbits. It was a turnover that broke open the game off the tape of leading goal scorer Brendan O’Donnell who tucked a shot just inside the post. Halverson was able to deny the goal scorer on 10 other shots in the game.
Then after Miceli’s second period transition tally, the Everblades regained the advantage. Stephen MacAulay caught a pass untouched in front of the net. The advantage at 7:52 of the second period would be the final of the game for Florida.
The Swamp Rabbits take a three game win streak into Duluth, GA for a pair of games against the Atlanta Gladiators. The puck drops from the Infinite Energy Center Saturday night at 7 p.m. as Greenville looks to improve on a 6-1-0-0 record against the Gladiators.
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