Swamp Rabbits Upended by Florida Offense
March 3, 2018 - ECHL (ECHL)
Greenville Swamp Rabbits News Release
Estero, FL - The Greenville Swamp Rabbits (20-32-5-1), proud ECHL affiliate of the New York Rangers and the AHL's Hartford Wolf Pack, could not overcome an early lead by the Florida Everblades (39-12-2-4) and fell to the South Division leaders 6-2 at Germain Arena tonight. The Swamp Rabbits are 2-2-1-0 against the Everblades this season and will return for two more games in Estero to face the Everblades at the end of the month.
Florida jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first 13 minutes of action as both Steven Lorentz and Mitchell Heard put points on the board. Lorentz tallied the opening goal less than two minutes into the game while battling in front of the net. The winger blocked a shot by Brett Bulmer and quickly took control of the puck. Lorentz outlasted goaltender Brad Barone and beat him with a backhanded shot just inside of the right post.
Heard extended the advantage. The Everblades forward tallied two goals in less than four minutes. After taking a penalty, the center jumped out of the box and stole the puck at center ice to break into the zone. He cut to the right side of the net and also outlasted Barone to extend the lead to 2-0. He then tallied a second goal at 12:15 of the period, launching a shot from the blue line through traffic.
Greenville answered back with a power play goal. Brenden Kotyk manned the left side of the ice and from the circle was slid a puck by Sean Flanagan. The rookie defenseman let a blast fly on a one-timed shot that went in just under the crossbar to beat goaltender Martin Ouellette. The Swamp Rabbits blue liner earned his seventh of the season to make it 3-1 at the intermission. The club went 1-for-3 on the power play and were perfect on three penalty kills.
After outshooting the Everblades 16-12 in the first period, Florida took control in the second. The Everblades tallied 16 shots on net in the frame and eventually broke through with a perfect pass. John McCarron walked in from the left circle as Matt Berry fought his way to the right corner. The pass to the front was right in the leading score's wheel-house to record his 23rd goal of the season.
Hometown defenseman Daniel Echeverri took the game into his hands less than two minutes later. The defenseman took the puck from the defensive zone and sped up the ice on the right wing. At the right circle he cut to the high slot for a wide open chance and fired his first career goal to make it 4-2. The defenseman has tallied four points in ten games with Greenville, earning tallies in back-to-back games.
The Swamp Rabbits were out chanced by the 'blades in the third period. Florida rallied for 15 shots in the third period and tallied a pair of goals to earn the 6-2 victory. Justin Kea recorded the first goal in the frame on a rebound in front of the net and Heard completed the hat trick with ten minutes left in the game.
Ouellette made 22 saves in the game to earn his first career win over Greenville while Barone stopped 37 shots in the contest.
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