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ECHL Greenville Swamp Rabbits

Swamp Rabbits Bury Stingrays in Home Opener

October 24, 2015 - ECHL (ECHL)
Greenville Swamp Rabbits News Release


Greenville, S.C. - The Greenville Swamp Rabbits (1-1-0), proud ECHL affiliate of the New York Rangers and the AHL's Hartford Wolf Pack, received five goals from five separate players on Friday and scored a 5-3 victory over the South Carolina Stingrays (1-2-0) in the home opener at the Bon Secours Wellness Arena. Between the pipes, rookie P.J. Musico made 25 saves in his professional debut to earn the victory.

The Swamp Rabbits are now on a four-game winning streak on SANDLAPPER Securities Rink dating back to last season. In addition, head coach Brian Gratz earned his first victory as an ECHL head coach and the 150th win of his professional head coaching career overall.

For the second consecutive game, Jack Combs opened the scoring for Greenville with a nifty back-door look at the 8:25 mark of the first period. Ryan Rashid created the attack when he collected the puck in the neutral zone and skated into South Carolina's territory on the right wing. From the circle, Rashid funneled a saucer pass through the Stingrays' defense to Combs at the back post for a tap-in goal and his second of the season. Rashid and Michael St. Croix recorded the helpers.

Less than two minutes later, Bretton Cameron made it 2-0 with a rip from the high slot at the 9:56 mark. Troy Donnay corralled a bouncing puck in the Stingrays' zone before Cameron beat South Carolina goaltender Mark Dekanich on the blocker side.

Max Sauve cut the Stingrays' deficit to one at 10:52 of the opening frame when he wristed a shot past Musico from the right circle for his first goal of the season.

In the closing minutes of the first period, Emerson Clark regained the Swamp Rabbits' two-goal lead with a beautiful individual effort. As Stephan Vigier charged out of his own zone, Clark poked the puck away from the blue line and immediately entered on a breakaway, scoring blocker side on Dekanich from the top of the crease at 18:34. It was Clark's second goal of the season.

South Carolina made it 3-2 with the only goal of the middle frame courtesy of Vigier. At the 18:55 mark, Andrew Johnston found Vigier on the left wing for a perfectly aimed shot over Musico's shoulder into the top right corner of the cage.

The Swamp Rabbits reclaimed their two-goal advantage for a second time at 6:10 of the third period when Josh Nicholls' scored Greenville's first power play tally of the season. With Tyler Lewington in the box for holding, Scott Fleming and Nikita Kashirsky teamed up for several one-time passes to set up Nicholls at the doorstep for a quick strike. It was Nicholls' first goal of the season.

The Stingrays responded just 1:37 later to make it 4-3 when Sauve found Joe Devin on the right wing, where he entered the zone and beat Musico inside the near post from the circle. However, the Swamp Rabbits capped the scoring at 18:04 of the third period courtesy of another power play tally. Following a too many men on the ice minor against the Stingrays bench, Combs pushed a lead pass to Rashid in the slot, who dove and tipped the puck underneath Dekanich for his first goal of the season.

The Swamp Rabbits finished the game 2-for-5 on the power play and a perfect 3-for-3 on the penalty kill. Dekanich (1-1-0) made 19 saves in the loss.

A relatively calm contest for most of the first half turned physical late in the second period when a scrum in Greenville's zone turned into three separate tilts. Clark dropped the gloves with Joey Leach, while Michael Kantor engaged with Bobby Shea and Troy Donnay recorded his first pro fight when Brett Cameron. Kantor was also accessed a 10-minute misconduct for unsportsmanlike conduct.

Kantor and Shea dropped the gloves for a second time at 19:48 of the third period, while Cameron was assessed a game misconduct for being the third man in on an altercation.

South Carolina outshot Greenville 28-24.

The Swamp Rabbits return to action tomorrow night with a 7:05 p.m. puck drop against the South Carolina Stingrays at the North Charleston Coliseum. Greenville is back at the Bon Secours Wellness Arena on Sunday to complete a three-game weekend series with a 3:00 p.m. faceoff against the Florida Everblades. The Greenville News Family Fun Pack is available for Sunday's game, which includes four (4) red-level tickets, four (4) hot dogs, four (4) bags of chips, four (2) fountain drinks and two (2) foam fingers. In addition, all fans are invited to stick around after the contest for a free post-game skate with the entire team. The Swamp Rabbits will also sport their all-new, redesigned New York Rangers style jerseys. Call 864-674-7825 or visit SwampRabbits.com for tickets.

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