Swamp Rabbits Fall in Weekend Opener
January 17, 2025 - ECHL (ECHL)
Greenville Swamp Rabbits News Release
Greenville Swamp Rabbits' John Parker-Jones battles South Carolina Stingrays' Jacob Graves
(Greenville Swamp Rabbits)
(GREENVILLE, S.C.) - Austin Saint deflected home the only goal of the night for the Greenville Swamp Rabbits, who fell to the South Carolina Stingrays by a 5-1 score on Friday night. The game marked the first in-state rivalry showdown of 2025.
South Carolina jumped out to a 2-0 lead, with both first period strikes coming in special teams play. At 4:43 of the first, the Swamp Rabbits were caught in a tough change in their first power play of the game. Kyler Kupka applied pressure and forced a turnover on Swamp Rabbits netminder Dryden McKay behind his net, wrapping around and into the open goal for a shorthanded tally and a 1-0 Stingrays lead. Connor Moore doubled the advantage moments later on South Carolina's first power play of the game, rifling a shot down the middle from the high slot past McKay to make it 2-0 at 8:34 (Kupka and Josh Wilkins assisted).
The Stingrays added to their advantage with two top-shelf shots before the Swamp Rabbits ended the scoring run. Charlie Combs fired a laser over McKay's shoulder from the left side in transition to make it a 3-0 Stingrays lead (Justin Nachbaur and Dean Loukus assisted). Not to be outdone following a Swamp Rabbits penalty kill, Andrew Perrott walked in off the blue line and zipped a wrist shot past McKay from the right to add on a fourth for a 4-0 South Carolina advantage with 4:56 left in the second period (Austin Magera and Tyler Weiss assisted). Austin Saint, scoring his third goal in the last seven games, got the Swamp Rabbits on the board when he deflected a Parker Berge shot with 45.5 seconds remaining in the period to cut the deficit to 4-1 heading into the final frame (Berge and Joe Leahy assisted). Saint also fought Josh Wilkins at the end of the period, bringing life and energy into the dressing room trying to spark a comeback.
South Carolina thwarted the Swamp Rabbits efforts and added one more tally with Tyler Weiss, who completed a slick passing sequence in the offensive third and found himself wide open on the back door. Weiss slammed the puck home on a Jacob Graves pass and brought the game to its final of 5-1 at 6:05 of the third (Graves and Charlie Combs assisted).
Dryden McKay suffered the defeat, stopping 32 of 37 shots on net (9-12-3-0).
The Swamp Rabbits continue their three-game weekend with two road games, beginning with the Atlanta Gladiators tomorrow on Saturday, January 18th. Puck drop is slated for 7:00 p.m. at Gas South Arena. The team closes out on Sunday with a rematch against the Stingrays on January 19th, with puck drop coming at 3:05 p.m. EST at North Charleston Coliseum.
Images from this story
 Greenville Swamp Rabbits' John Parker-Jones battles South Carolina Stingrays' Jacob Graves |
• Discuss this story on the ECHL message board...
ECHL Stories from January 17, 2025
- Heartlanders Win Sixth Straight Game, Slay Knight Monsters, 7-3 - Iowa Heartlanders
- Bison Extend Win Streak to Three - Bloomington Bison
- Vaive Nets Goal #150, Cyclones Win Big Over Mariners - Cincinnati Cyclones
- Grizzlies Fall 3-1 in First Ever Game in Bloomington, Illinois - Utah Grizzlies
- Royals Welcome Gritty, Icemen to Reading for Flyers Affiliation Night - Reading Royals
- Knight Monsters Give up Season-High Seven Goals in Game One Loss - Tahoe Knight Monsters
- Brown Scores Twice, Royals Earn Three-Game Point Streak in Shootout Loss to Icemen, 5-4 - Reading Royals
- Admirals Score Five In Pivotal Win Against Lions - Norfolk Admirals
- Oilers Fall in Heart-Pounding Shootout to Idaho - Tulsa Oilers
- Ben Kraws Makes 48 Saves in 2-1 Shootout Win at Tulsa - Idaho Steelheads
- Bennett Scores Twice, Rush Drops Opener at Kansas City - Rapid City Rush
- Railers Shock Thunder with Third Period Comeback - Worcester Railers HC
- Swamp Rabbits Fall in Weekend Opener - Greenville Swamp Rabbits
- Kruse, Smereck Score in Friday Loss at Fort Wayne - Toledo Walleye
- Lions Drop First Game of Three-Game Series to Admirals in Norfolk - Trois-Rivieres Lions
- Stingrays Skate Past Swamp Rabbits in 5-1 Victory - South Carolina Stingrays
- Blades Spook Ghost Pirates in 5-2 Win - Florida Everblades
- Thunder Lose Lead in 4-3 Loss to Railers - Adirondack Thunder
- Mariners Fall in Cincinnati - Maine Mariners
- Thunder Lose Lead in 4-3 Loss to Railers - Adirondack Thunder
- Fuel Shut Out Kalamazoo as Wideman Breaks Record - Indy Fuel
- K-Wings Drop Road Matchup to Fuel - Kalamazoo Wings
- Ryan Chyzowski Recalled by Manitoba - Norfolk Admirals
- Jake McLaughlin Reassigned to Kansas City - Kansas City Mavericks
- ECHL Transactions - January 17 - ECHL
- Brett Davis Signs PTO with Calgary Wranglers - Rapid City Rush
- January 17, 2025 - Grizzlies Gameday: Hillebrand, Yoon Reassigned to Utah; Hunter Warner Signs with Club - Utah Grizzlies
- Jimmy Lodge Joins Swamp Rabbits Ahead of Weekend - Greenville Swamp Rabbits
- Bennett MacArthur Assigned to Icemen; Houser Recalled - Jacksonville Icemen
- Icemen; Cox Media Group to Televise Four Additional Icemen Games Locally - Jacksonville Icemen
- MeiGray to Auction Items from 2025 Warrior/ECHL Hockey Heritage Game - ECHL
- Women in Sports Panel Highlights Mariners Game February 8 - Maine Mariners
- Royals Reassigned G Gage Alexander from Grand Rapids by Detroit, Sign D Michael Kim to SPC - Reading Royals
- Game Day #33 & #34 - Lions de Trois-Rivières vs. Norfolk Admirals - Trois-Rivieres Lions
- Rush Game Notes: January 17, 2025 at Kansas City Mavericks - Rapid City Rush
- Forward Chad Hillebrand Reassigned to Grizzlies - Utah Grizzlies
- Spencer Kersten Returns to Solar Bears from Belleville - Orlando Solar Bears
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
