ECHL Greenville Swamp Rabbits

Swamp Rabbits "Stick It" to Everblades in 3-1 Win

March 11, 2016 - ECHL (ECHL)
Greenville Swamp Rabbits News Release


Greenville, SC - The Greenville Swamp Rabbits (27-25-7), proud ECHL affiliate of the New York Rangers and the AHL's Hartford Wolf Pack, scored three unanswered goals Friday to secure a 3-1 victory against the Florida Everblades (37-20-2) on Stick It To Cancer Night presented by the Bon Secours St. Francis Health System at the Bon Secours Wellness Arena.

Vinny Saponari, Ryan Rashid and Brian Hart each scored for Greenville, while Alain Valiquette stopped 21 shots and improved to 4-0-0 in his professional career. In addition, Valiquette is now 3-0-0 with the Swamp Rabbits and boasts a 1.00 goals-against-average and .973 save percentage during that span.

With the victory, Greenville is 13-11-6 on SANDLAPPER Securities Rink this season and 4-3-1 against Florida. The Swamp Rabbits continue to sit 11th in the Eastern Conference standings and are now four points behind Atlanta for the final playoff position.

The Everblades took advantage of an early hooking penalty to Garett Bembridge and scored their only goal on the power play just 2:17 into the first period. With the extra attacker, Matt Willows notched his team-leading 20th tally of the season on a one-timer from the top of the left circle that deflected off a stick and beat Valiquette's blocker for a 1-0 lead.

Not to be denied, Greenville responded in a big way, scoring each of the game's final three goals. Saponari got things started and evened the score with his sixth tally of the season at the 8:27 mark. After forcing a turnover behind Florida's cage, Jack Combs corralled the puck and funneled a pass to Saponari at the right hash marks, where the fourth-year pro netted a low shot past the right leg pad of Anthony Peters. Bembridge also recorded an assist.

The Swamp Rabbits came out firing in the second period and took a 2-1 advantage less than two minutes in courtesy of Rashid's 13th goal of the season. Josh Nicholls collected the puck at the blue line and skated to the left circle, where he slowed and guided a pin-point pass to the right side. Rashid skated into the feed and ripped a heavy one-timer from the hash marks. Kodie Curran also earned a helper.

Hart added insurance at 17:49 of the second period when he recorded his seventh goal of the season, and first with Greenville since Nov. 14. After being denied on a 2-on-2 rush, Nicholls kept with the play and sent a sharp pass to the right post where Hart tipped it in past Peters' glove to make it 3-1.

The game included one fight at 5:36 of the third period when Andrew Dommett and Rob Florentino dropped the gloves following a hit against Scott Fleming.

Greenville finished the game 0-for-2 on the power play and 1-for-2 on the penalty kill. Peters (22-13-1) made 21 saves in the loss, while Florida dropped to second in the South Division standings for the first time since mid-October.

Superhero Night: The Swamp Rabbits conclude a three-game weekend series tomorrow with a 7 p.m. rematch against the Florida Everblades. Greenville will wear specialty Batman-themed jerseys for Superhero Night at the Bon Secours Wellness Arena, which will be auctioned off following the game live on the ice to those in attendance only. In addition, some of the most popular superheroes including Batman, Superman, Captain America and Wonder Woman will be available for pictures and autographs throughout the game on the concourse. Families can take advantage of a great ticket special through the GSP Airport Fun Zone, which offers discounted adult tickets for just $10 and up to four (4) complementary kid's tickets in section 119. CLICK HERE for more information or to purchase the deal.

Check out the Greenville Swamp Rabbits Statistics



ECHL Stories from March 11, 2016


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