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ECHL Greenville Swamp Rabbits

Preview: Big-Time Promotions Headline Three-Game Series

March 10, 2016 - ECHL (ECHL)
Greenville Swamp Rabbits News Release


THE STORY COMING IN

The Greenville Swamp Rabbits (26-24-7), proud ECHL affiliate of the New York Rangers and the AHL's Hartford Wolf Pack, open a three-game weekend series tonight with a 7 p.m. puck drop against the South Carolina Stingrays at the Bon Secours Wellness Arena. Greenville is coming off an impressive two-game sweep of Atlanta last weekend, in which the club outscored the Gladiators 10-2, and moved to 10th place in the Eastern Conference. The Swamp Rabbits are three points behind Wheeling and five points behind Reading and Elmira, who are tied for the final two playoff spots. In Greenville's last outing on Sunday, Ryan Rashid and Scott Fleming each scored twice, and Alain Valiquette stopped 42 of 43 shots to help the Swamp Rabbits earn a 4-1 win in Duluth, Georgia. Tonight, Greenville looks to win its third straight divisional matchup for the third time this season.

PROMOTIONAL HEADLINERS

The Bon Secours Wellness Arena is the place to be this weekend as the Swamp Rabbits host some of the biggest promotions of the season. Tonight is Business Power Play Night presented by South State Bank as well as Thirsty Thursday, featuring $2 domestic drafts from 6-8 p.m. and $2 hot dogs, pretzels and soft drinks all night long. Limited $5 tickets are also available at the box office while supplies last. Friday is the annual Stick It To Cancer game presented by the Bon Secours St. Francis Health System, raising awareness and funds for several local charities. The Greenville News Family Fun Pack is also available and provides a great way for families to come out and enjoy the game. On Saturday, the Swamp Rabbits will wear specialty Batman-themed jerseys for Superhero Night. The game-worn jerseys will be auctioned off live on the ice following the game and many superheroes including Batman, Superman, Captain American and Wonder Woman will be available for pictures and autographs on the concourse. The GSP Airport Fun Zone package provides a great family value and is available for Saturday's series finale.

THE MATCHUPS

Tonight's game marks the 10th of 11 meetings between the in-state rivals this season, and the fifth and final matchup at The Well. Greenville leads the season-series 5-3-1, but has dropped three consecutive games to South Carolina after winning five of the first six. In their last meeting on Feb. 21, 'Rays forward Stephan Vigier scored the game-winner with just 97 seconds left to beat the Swamp Rabbits, 2-1, in North Charleston. Greenville is 2-1-1 against South Carolina at home this season and is led by Bretton Cameron with six goals and nine points in nine games against the 'Rays. The Swamp Rabbits are 43-39-4 in the all-time series.

On Friday, Greenville meets Florida for the eighth time this season and the sixth of seven meetings at the Bon Secours Wellness Arena. The Swamp Rabbits are 3-3-1 against the Everblades this season including a 2-1 victory in Estero, Florida on Jan. 30. Andrew Dommett and Joe Houk each scored that night, while Mackenzie Skapski stopped 25 of 26 shots in net. Greenville is 2-2-1 against Florida at home this season and 35-20-9 against the "Blades in the all-time series.

VIEW FROM NORTH CHARLESTON

Head coach Spencer Carbery's club is 12-2-2 since Jan. 30 and has closed to within one point of Florida for the top spot of the South Division. The Stingrays are second in the division and fourth in the Eastern Conference overall, but looking to bounce back after a 3-2 overtime loss to Adirondack on Saturday. Jared Staal and Joe Devin each scored for South Carolina that night, while Mark Dekanich made 31 saves on 34 shots. Despite the setback, Dekanich is ranked fourth in the ECHL with a 2.13 goals-against-average and teammate Vitek Vanecek is tied for eighth with a 2.22 goals-against-average. Offensively, David Pacan is tied for 12th in the league's point scoring race with 51 points and Brett Cameron is tied for sixth among all ECHL rookies with 45 points.

VIEW FROM ESTERO

The first-place Florida Everblades have struggled recently, collecting just two wins in their last seven games and falling to third in the Eastern Conference. Last weekend, Florida dropped two of its three games against Toledo but earned a 4-3 victory in the finale last Saturday when veteran forward Jon DiSalvatore scored twice and added an assist, and Anthony Peters stopped 20 of the 23 shots he faced in goal. Peters now ranks sixth among ECHL goaltenders with a 2.17 goals-against-average and is fifth with 22 wins. The Everblades open a six-game road trip on Thursday in Atlanta and continue a three-game series in Greenville on Friday.

STARS "ALAIN" FOR VALIQUETTE

Since his acquisition from Elmira one week ago, goaltender Alain Valiquette has turned heads with an impressive showing in his first two games with Greenville, going 2-0-0 last weekend and stopping 88 of 90 shots for a 1.00 goals-against-average and .978 save percentage. Those numbers also earned Valiquette CCM ECHL Goaltender of the Week honors in just his second pro week. Overall, the Laurentian University product is 3-0-0 with a 1.95 goals-against-average and .952 save percentage to begin his professional career since debuting with Elmira on Feb. 26, less than a week after his collegiate career ended.    

PARTY DOWN SOUTH

Each of the Swamp Rabbits next nine games will take place in the South Division, running all the way through Mar. 26. Greenville will play all four division foes during that span including Atlanta (2x), Florida (4x), South Carolina (2x) and Orlando (1x). The Swamp Rabbits are 17-13-5 against division opponents this season, better than the club was against the division last season when it went 15-18-3 against those four teams through Mar. 10.  

PENNIES, "NICHOLLS" AND DIMES

New York Rangers prospect Josh Nicholls collected four points (2g, 2a) in two games last week and now boasts a team-best five-game point streak (3g, 4a), dating back to Feb. 26. Nicholls is third on the team in both goals (15) and points-per-game (0.70) this season, with 30 points in 43 appearances.

POWER UP

Greenville has scored at least one power-play goal in each of its last three games. In addition, the team is 6-for-12 (50%) on the man advantage during that span and has improved to eighth in the league at home with a 19.0% conversation rate. The Swamp Rabbits are 17-8-3 when scoring at least one power-play goal in a game this season.  

AFFILIATE REPORT

New York Rangers (39-22-6, 2nd Metropolitan): Next at Detroit - Saturday, 2 p.m. ET

Hartford Wolf Pack (29-27-2, T-6th Atlantic): Next at Providence - Tomorrow, 7:05 p.m. ET

SOUTH DIVISION

1. Florida Everblades (36-19-2) = 74 points in 57 games

2. South Carolina Stingrays (33-18-7) = 73 points in 58 games

3. Atlanta Gladiators (29-22-7) = 65 points in 58 games

4. Greenville Swamp Rabbits (26-24-7) = 59 points in 57 games

5. Orlando Solar Bears (25-23-8) = 58 points in 56 games

Check out the Greenville Swamp Rabbits Statistics



ECHL Stories from March 10, 2016


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