Weekend Preview: Rabbits Continue North for Three-Game Set
November 27, 2015 - ECHL (ECHL)
Greenville Swamp Rabbits News Release
THE STORY COMING IN
The Greenville Swamp Rabbits (7-9-1), proud ECHL affiliate of the New York Rangers and the AHL's Hartford Wolf Pack, conclude their northern road trip this weekend with three games in three days against the Reading Royals and Adirondack Thunder. Greenville enters the weekend with points in three of its last four games, and is coming off of the team's biggest win of the season on Wednesday in Norfolk. Michael Kantor (2g, 1a) and Jack Combs (1g, 2a) each earned a three-point performance that night, while goaltender P.J. Musico stopped all 26 shots for his first professional shutout in a 6-0 rout of the Norfolk Admirals.
THREE'S A CHARM
The Swamp Rabbits open their fourth "3-in-3" of the season tonight in Reading, Pennsylvania, the same location in which the club finished their last three-game set. Overall, Greenville will play 13 "3-in-3's" during the 2015-16 campaign, including three in as many weeks beginning tonight. The team is 3-6-0 when playing on three consecutive days this season.
ON THE ROAD AGAIN
Road trips have not been friendly to the Swamp Rabbits this season as the club has collected just four of its 15 points away from the Upstate. Greenville is currently 2-5-0 on the road and has recorded just one regulation win away from SANDLAPPER Securities Rink this season. The Swamp Rabbits current road trip will not make it any easier as the team will travel more than 1,940 miles and bus through eight states including Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, South Carolina and Virginia.
THE MATCHUPS
Tonight's contest marks the third of four meetings between the Swamp Rabbits and Reading Royals this season - all four will take place in Pennsylvania. Reading leads the season-series 2-0-0 after a two-game sweep of the Rabbits earlier this month. On Nov. 7, Adam Comrie (1g, 1a) and Kevin Young (3a) each notched a multi-point effort to guide the Royals to a 5-1 win. The next evening, Reading netminder Connor Knapp made 30 saves for his first shutout of the season in a 5-0 final. Greenville is 5-9-1 all-time against the Royals. On Sunday, the Swamp Rabbits continue north to Glens Falls, New York to face the Adirondack Thunder for the second time this season, and the first of two meetings on the road. Greenville handed Adirondack one of its two losses this season at Bon Secours Wellness Arena on Nov. 14 with a 3-2 win in the inaugural matchup. In a tight battle from start to finish, rookie forward Brian Hart scored his first professional game-winning goal at 12:11 of the third period.
VIEW FROM READING
Seventh-year head coach Larry Courville's club has dropped three straight games and has fallen into a tie for third place in the East Division standings (with Elmira) with a record of 8-7-0 (16 points). Last time out, former Greenville netminder Adam Morrison, who was traded to Reading from Fort Wayne on Monday, made 24 saves on 25 shots, but allowed Zach Torquato to score the only goal of the game on Wednesday in a 1-0 setback to the Wheeling Nailers on the road. The Royals are led in scoring by Adam Comrie and Mike Pereira (16 points), who are also tied for 16th in league scoring overall. In addition, Comrie leads all defenseman in points and goals (8).
VIEW FROM GLENS FALLS
One of the top teams early on this season, the Adirondack Thunder rank second in the Eastern Conference entering the weekend with a record of 11-2-0 (22 points). The Thunder trail the Florida Everblades in the conference by just four points, but have played six fewer games. In their last outing, Greg Wolfe and Louick Marcotte each scored to lead Adirondack to its second straight victory, a 2-1 decision against Elmira on Wednesday. Between the pipes, rookie goaltender Ken Appleby made 32 saves to collect his ninth win of the season. Appleby is currently tied for second among league netminders in wins, and also ranks fifth with a 1.82 goals-against-average and fourth with a .937 save percentage.
FIRING ON ALL CYLINDERS
The Swamp Rabbits surged to a 6-0 victory at Norfolk on Wednesday in an all-around impressive performance. Offensively, Greenville tied its season-high with six goals and earned the team's largest margin of victory in almost a year (Nov. 29, 2014), when the club notched an 8-3 victory at Reading. Defensively, the Swamp Rabbits collected their first shutout of the season and first shutout overall since a 1-0 win at Wheeling on Dec. 19, 2014.
QUICK HITS
The Swamp Rabbits are 5-0-0 when allowing two goals or less, but 0-7-0 when scoring two or fewer... Michael St. Croix is four points from his 100th professional tally... Josh Nicholls is five points from his 100th professional tally... Kodie Curran is tied for the league lead among rookies and defensemen with two game-winning goals... Michael Kantor's two-goal and three-point effort on Wednesday were both career highs.
GOING STREAKING
Captain Bretton Cameron (2g, 3a) and rookie forward Richard Nejezchelb (1g, 3a) are each enjoying four-game point streaks, dating back to Nov. 17. The 21-year-old Nejezchelb is currently averaging a point-per-game since joining the Swamp Rabbits and his four-game streak is also a career-high. In addition, Cameron's 11 points overall places him third on the team in scoring.
AFFILIATE REPORT
New York Rangers (16-4-2, 1st Metropolitan): Next at Boston - Today, 1 p.m. ET
Hartford Wolf Pack (8-9-2, 5th Atlantic): Next vs. Springfield - Tonight, 7:15 p.m. ET
Teddy Time: The Swamp Rabbits will host their sixth annual "Teddy Bear Toss" Night presented by Bon Secours St. Francis Health System on Saturday, Dec. 5 at 7 p.m. at the Bon Secours Wellness Arena. The annual tradition encourages fans to bring stuffed animals to the game and throw them onto SANDLAPPER Securities Rinkwhen Greenville scores its first goal. The stuffed animals are then collected and donated to Toys for Tots. Last season, more than 2,500 stuffed animals were collected and donated. In addition, the Swamp Rabbits invite local elementary school choirs to perform Christmas Carols at the game for the Sing for Santa event! Each elementary school that participates can sing the National Anthem for the start of our game and then perform Christmas Carols during the first intermission. Click here for tickets.
Get Social: Follow the Swamp Rabbits all season long and get behind-the-scenes coverage like never before on the team's official Facebook and Twitter pages.
Trolley On Over: Greenville's downtown trolley route has been extended to include a stop at the Bon Secours Wellness Arena. The expanded route will operate for all Swamp Rabbits' games taking place Thursdays through Sundays during normal trolley service hours.
Call 864-674-7825 or visit SwampRabbits.com for tickets. Bring a group of 15 or more out to a game and receive great discounts, merchandise offers and hospitality opportunities! Call a Swamp Rabbits Account Executive for more information! Get the latest Swamp Rabbits gear at the "Hop Shop" team store or visit the "Hop Shop" online at SwampRabbits.com/shop to browse the full collection of fan wear and novelties!
Date Time Opponent Location
Fri, Nov. 27 7 p.m. @ Reading Santander Arena
Sat, Nov. 28 7 p.m. @ Reading Santander Arena
Sun, Nov. 29 3 p.m. @ Adirondack Glens Falls Civic Center
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