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ECHL Greenville Swamp Rabbits

Preview: Playoff Push Continues with Three Games this Weekend

March 18, 2016 - ECHL (ECHL)
Greenville Swamp Rabbits News Release


THE STORY COMING IN

The Greenville Swamp Rabbits (27-26-7), proud ECHL affiliate of the New York Rangers and the AHL's Hartford Wolf Pack, conclude a four-game homestand tonight against their most frequent opponent of the 2015-16 season, the Atlanta Gladiators. Greenville enters the contest seven points out of a playoff spot with just 12 games left in the regular season. The Swamp Rabbits are coming off of a 5-2 setback to Florida last Saturday in which Jack Combs scored twice on the power play, but Ryan Martindale also notched two goals for the Everblades at the Bon Secours Wellness Arena. Tonight's contest is one of just five remaining on SANDLAPPER Securities Rink this season.

FAMILY, FELLOWSHIP AND HOCKEY

Tonight is Faith and Family Night at the Bon Secours Wellness Arena, featuring a free post-game concert by the JJ Weeks Band and a special guest appearance by former University of South Carolina football star Marcus Lattimore. Lattimore, who was drafted by the San Francisco 49ers in 2013 NFL Draft, will join Swamp Rabbits players Justin DaSilva, Tyler Elbrecht and Michael St. Croix, in sharing their testimonies and stories of their faith during the evening. Families can come out for a great night of excitement and fun while getting a great value at the same time! The Greenville News Family Fun Pack features four (4) red level tickets, four (4) hot dogs, four (4) bags of chips, four (4) soft drinks and two (2) foam fingers for just $60! Click here to reserve yours or call the Swamp Rabbits' front office at 864-674-PUCK.

THE MATCHUPS

Tonight's game marks the 12th of 15 meetings between the Swamp Rabbits and Gladiators this season, and the seventh of eight matchups at the Bon Secours Wellness Arena. Greenville is 5-5-1 against Atlanta this season including back-to-back wins March 5-6. The Swamp Rabbits outscored the Gladiators 10-2 that weekend and swept a two-game, home-and-home series. In their last meeting on March 6, Ryan Rashid and Scott Fleming each scored twice to lift the Swamp Rabbits to a 4-1 victory in Duluth, GA. Greenville went 9-2-0 against Atlanta last season and continues to lead the all-time series 45-29-6.

Sunday's matinee game will mark the 11th and final meeting between Greenville and South Carolina this season. The Swamp Rabbits lead the season-series 5-4-1, but have dropped four consecutive games to South Carolina after winning five of the first six. In their last meeting on March 10, "Rays goaltender Vitek Vanecek stopped all 28 shots he faced in a 4-0 shutout at the Bon Secours Wellness Arena. The Swamp Rabbits are 43-40-4 in the all-time series.

VIEW FROM DULUTH

Head coach Andy Brandt's club has lost seven straight games (0-6-1) and enters tonight's contest ninth in the Eastern Conference. In fact, Atlanta is 4-12-5 since Jan. 22, which has dropped the team outside of a playoff spot for the first time since October. Last time out, Tyler Murovich netted his 17th goal of the season and extended his point streak to three games, but the Gladiators suffered a 3-1 loss to South Carolina on Saturday in North Charleston. Glads' captain and leading scorer Derek Nesbitt was quiet for the fifth consecutive game, but continues to rank among the league leaders in points (tied for 18th with 50), shots (third with 203) and game-winners (tied for first with 8). Atlanta concludes a three-game road trip tonight.

VIEW FROM NORTH CHARLESTON

Led by head coach Spencer Carbery, South Carolina is 15-2-2 since Jan. 30 and has taken over the top spot in the South Division, one point ahead of second-place Florida. The Stingrays enter the weekend on a three-game winning streak and 8-1-1 in their last 10 games. In their last outing on Saturday, Nick Jones, Stephan Vigier and Patrick Gaul each scored in a 3-1 win against Atlanta in North Charleston. Between the pipes, rookie netminder Vitek Vanecek made 28 saves, helping him to CCM ECHL Goaltender of the Week honors for the second time this season. Vanecek went 2-0-0 with a 0.50 goals-against-average, .982 save percentage and one shutout in two games last week and improved to fourth among ECHL netminders with a 2.08 goals-against-average in 26 appearances this season. His teammate, Mark Dekanich, ranks fifth among league goaltenders with a 2.09 goals-against-average in 30 games this season. The Stingrays play Florida on Friday and Saturday before hosting the Swamp Rabbits on Sunday afternoon.  

FIT FOR A KING

The Swamp Rabbits announced today rookie forward Kevin King has been returned on loan from the AHL's Texas Stars and is expected to make his Greenville debut this weekend. The 26-year-old spent each of the last five seasons at the University of Calgary before signing with the Swamp Rabbits on March 8. He agreed to a Professional Tryout (PTO) with Texas the next day and made three appearances with the Stars. A Calgary native, King recorded 101 points (37g, 64a), 190 penalty minutes and a +30 rating in 124 games with the Dinos. He also skated alongside Swamp Rabbits defenseman Kodie Curran.  

PLAYOFF PICTURE

Similar to the 2013-14 campaign and years prior, this season, each division winner and the next five best teams in each conference will qualify for the Kelly Cup playoffs. The Swamp Rabbits (61 points) are currently on the outside looking in with just 22 days left in the regular season. Greenville is seven points behind eighth-place Elmira, but also needs to leap Atlanta (65 points), Orlando (64 points), and Kalamazoo (63 points) in the final 12 games. The good news - Greenville still has a number of chances to beat those teams head-to-head with games left against Orlando (1x), Atlanta (4x) and Kalamazoo (3x).

CONSISTENTLY EFFECTIVE

Forwards Ryan Rashid and Josh Nicholls have repeatedly been Greenville's most consistent threats over the last 4-6 weeks. Rashid, a second-year pro out of Niagara University, has notched 14 points (6g, 8a) in his last 15 games and has jumped to second on the club in assists (21) and tied for third in points (34). He is also tied for second on the team in power-play goals (5). In addition, Nicholls has collected nine points (3g, 6a) in his last eight games and now ranks third on the Swamp Rabbits' roster with 15 goals this season.

SPECIAL TEAMS SUCCESS

The Swamp Rabbits special teams have heated up significantly over the last six games. Greenville has gone 8-for-24 (33.3%) on the power play during that span, including a three-goal performance against Atlanta on March 5, and has improved to eighth on the man advantage at home (18.8%). In addition, Greenville's penalty kill went 22-for-24 (91.7%) over the course of those same six games.    

QUICK HITS

Scott Fleming leads the Swamp Rabbits in a variety of offensive categories including assists (tied for first with 25), points (42), plus-minus (+14) and power-play goals (6)... Jack Combs has six goals and 10 points in his last six home games... Greenville is tied for sixth with eight shorthanded goals... Justin DaSilva is tied for third among rookies with six major penalties... The Swamp Rabbits earned their 13th comeback victory of the season on Friday (when trailing at some point).

AFFILIATE REPORT

New York Rangers (40-23-8, 2nd Metropolitan): Next at San Jose - Tomorrow, 4 p.m. ET

Hartford Wolf Pack (32-27-2, 6th Atlantic): Next vs. Portland - Tonight, 7:15 p.m. ET

SOUTH DIVISION

1. South Carolina Stingrays (36-18-7) = 79 points in 61 games

2. Florida Everblades (38-20-2) = 78 points in 60 games

3. Atlanta Gladiators (29-25-7) = 65 points in 61 games

4. Orlando Solar Bears (28-24-8) = 64 points in 60 games

5. Greenville Swamp Rabbits (27-26-1) = 61 points in 60 games

Check out the Greenville Swamp Rabbits Statistics

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ECHL Stories from March 18, 2016


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