Swamp Rabbits Late Surge Held at Bay by Everblades
March 30, 2018 - ECHL (ECHL)
Greenville Swamp Rabbits News Release
Estero, FL - The Greenville Swamp Rabbits (23-36-7-1), proud ECHL affiliate of the New York Rangers and the AHL's Hartford Wolf Pack, were edged tonight by the Florida Everblades (47-13-2-4) after battling back in a valiant effort. The 5-3 score ended with five third period goals as Greenville continued to fire back in the final ten minutes of the contest. Greenville ended their seven game season series with the top seeded Everblades, notching a pair of wins in the head to head series.
Greenville turned the page on Wednesday night's performance and opened the game with a newfound vigor. The Swamp Rabbits were aggressive and physical in the first period earning eight shots and opening the scoring. After Logan Roe went to the penalty box for hooking, Greenville wasted no time to find the back of the net. Less than 30 seconds ticked off the clock when Evan Jasper dished a backhanded pass over to defenseman Matt Prapavessis at the top of the slot. The third-year pro walked into the high slot and launched a slap shot into the net at 5:04 of the period.
The Everblades reacted and upped their play late in the period, earning 14 shots in the frame and also picked up a pair of power play chances. In the second period they finally connected with a power play goal to tie the game at 9:46. Brett Bulmer was standing atop the crease awaiting a shot from the blue line by Derek Sheppard and deflected the opportunity for his 19th goal of the campaign.
Rallying for 18 shot in the second period, the Everblades tested Swamp Rabbits netminder Ty Rimmer who reached 30 saves before the start of the third period. The fifth-year pro made some fantastic saves in his franchise record 41st appearance of the season and eventually ended the game with 41 stops.
Before the second period came to a close, Florida's leading scorer Mitchell Heard gave the Everblades the lead. The winger notched his 24th of the season on a long shot from the top of the slot. After circling in the offensive zone, Heard tossed his shot through traffic and found the net for a 2-1 Florida lead that held into the second intermission.
An explosion of goals made the game exciting right down to the final horn. Florida tallied a power play just after the halfway point of the period to extend the lead as Bulmer connected on a shot from the high slot. Moments before the power play chance, Sean Flanagan rang a shot off the post, just inches from tying the game at two.
The Swamp Rabbits would not go down without a fight. With the puck changing hands by the second, forward Wade Murphy stole the puck from the Everblades and sped up the ice with Matt Johnson. Johnson made a nifty move to get into the offensive zone before sending a shot from the left corner toward the crease. Murphy was there to redirect the puck over the shoulder of goaltender Callum Booth and into the net for a 3-2 score at 14:23 of the third period.
Joe Cox notched his 21st goal of the year two minutes later to retake the two-goal advantage with a power play mark. The Everblades finished with three goals on five power play chances after earning just one goal on the man advantage in the first six meetings this season. Greenville would notch another on the power play in the final two minutes to finish the game 2-for-5.
Evan Jasper finished his two-point night to make it a 4-3 game in the final moments. Flanagan walked to the near side and let a one-timed shot fly toward the net. The shot ricochet off the right pad of Booth right to the rookie's stick, giving him 50 points this season.
The comeback would fall short in the final moments as Rimmer came to the bench for an empty skater. John McCarron tallied the empty net goal from the red line to ice the game with just over a minute to play. Booth finished the night with the win off of 25 saves.
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