McKay Blanks Jacksonville; Wins Third Game in as Many Days for Greenville
November 24, 2024 - ECHL (ECHL)
Greenville Swamp Rabbits News Release
Greenville Swamp Rabbits mob goaltender Dryden McKay
(Greenville Swamp Rabbits)
(GREENVILLE, S.C.) - Bryce Brodzinski potted a goal and two helpers, Parker Berge and Ben Freeman each added a goal and an assist, and Dryden McKay stopped all 41 shots he saw to power the Greenville Swamp Rabbits to a 5-0 win on Sunday afternoon against the Jacksonville Icemen. The win, coming on "First Responders Day", presented by Carolina Handling, marks both the team's and McKay's fourth consecutive win, and gives the Swamp Rabbits seven wins in their last eight games.
Ben Freeman lead off the game for the Swamp Rabbits with the team's first shorthanded goal of the season. At 7:28 of the first, Tate Singleton went on a shorthanded break on an aggressive penalty-killing sequence, and fired a shot off of the pad of starter Matt Vernon for Jacksonville. The puck bounced right off of his pad to Freeman's tape and he buried his chance to put the Swamp Rabbits up 1-0 (Singleton had the lone assist). The momentum didn't stop there: Brent Pedersen hit paydirt for a second straight night in transition, tipping home a Stuart Rolofs pass from just outside the goaltending crease on a middle lane drive to double the Greenville advantage to 2-0 with 3:36 remaining in the first (Rolofs and Bryce Brodzinski assisted). Fresh off of his first point of the night, Brodzinski tripled the Swamp Rabbits lead with 13 seconds left in the period on a turnover forced by Freeman, unleashing a laser on his pass over Vernon's shoulder from the left side of the slot to give the Swamp Rabbits a 3-0 lead after one period of play (Freeman had the lone assist). Dryden McKay, manning the Swamp Rabbits net, stopped all 12 shots he saw in the first period of play.
Matt Vernon was substituted in the Jacksonville net for Justen Close, who eventually conceded a fourth goal to Parker Berge in the final minutes of the second period. With 3:47 to go in the second, Berge collected a Colton Young feed from the left side and sniped for a second time in as many games over Close's shoulder to balloon the Swamp Rabbits lead to 4-0 (Young had the lone assist). McKay withstood another barrage of 14 shots to stay perfect for the Swamp Rabbits heading into the final period.
Stuart Rolofs added his name to the multi-point ledger on the scoresheet, adding a fifth and final nail to the score column. With 5:00 remaining, Rolofs deflected a Parker Berge shot from the far wall past Close to bring the tally to its eventual final of 5-0. McKay remained perfect, turning aside the final 15 shots to secure a 41-save shutout.
McKay's shutout is both his fourth straight and the team's fourth straight since November 17th against Florida, and marks his first shutout since March 2, 2024 with Newfoundland against Kalamazoo. He's played all but two games this season, now improving to 6-3-1-0 in 11 games.
The Swamp Rabbits now begin a three-game road trip, beginning Wednesday night against the Atlanta Gladiators. Puck drop on November 27th is slated for 7:00 p.m. EST at Gas South Arena.
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 Greenville Swamp Rabbits mob goaltender Dryden McKay |
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