PHN’s best shots of the game: Swamp Rabbits beat Jacksonville in OT

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Jack Brackett scored two goals, including the game winner 3:03 into overtime, to lead the Greenville Swamp Rabbits to a 4-3 win over the Jacksonville Icemen on Saturday night, their first road game of the new year. The victory gives the Swamp Rabbits exclusive possession of 4^e in the South Division, breaking the tie previously held by the Icemen.

Both teams came to a scoreless stalemate after 20 minutes of play, with Pierce Charleson deflecting 13 Jacksonville shots and Cameron Rowe denying nine chances for the Swamp Rabbits. Finally the dam broke with a quick exchange of points. Just 1:58 into the second, John Spetz fired a blue line shot that was deflected by Dalton Duhart and skipped off Charleson, giving the Icemen a 1-0 lead (Spetz and Jaden Condotta assisted). However, 30 seconds later, Parker Berge, from approximately the same area on the other side of the net, took a puck that ricocheted off a defenseman and flew through traffic, beating Rowe over his shoulder and immediately tying the game at 1–1 at 2:28. Brackett’s big night started midway through the second, when he forced a turnover at the offensive blue line, setting up a two-on-one with Brent Pedersen. Pedersen passed it back to Brackett, and despite the traffic and chaotic puck bounce, he stayed on the play and slotted it past Rowe in the slot to give the Swamp Rabbits a 2-1 lead. Cam Hausinger then provided more separation, beating the buzzer with 0:06 left when he buried a pass behind Josh Atkinson’s net, extending the Swamp Rabbits’ lead to 3-1 entering the third (Atkinson and Hudson Schandor assisted).

The Icemen found momentum entering the final period, scoring 2:18 into the frame when Charleson made contact with the Icemen skaters, leading to Garrett Van Whye’s score on a net-front scramble, cutting the lead to 3-2. Despite the contact slowing Charleson down, the goal was upheld after review. In the final minutes, Tim Lovell and Josh Atkinson committed hooking and cutting minors, respectively, giving the Icemen a two-man power play, which turned into a three-man lead with the extra attacker, with 81 seconds left. With 12.2 seconds left, Matteo Costantini found a rebound from the left and fired a shot through traffic, beating Charleson and making the game 3-3 (with Whye and Patrick Bajkov assisting).

After killing the rest of Atkinson’s penalty in overtime, the Swamp Rabbits executed a draw in the defensive zone. At 3:03, Brackett turned on his afterburners, beat his defender and finished his breakaway with his second of the night, winning the game 4-3 for the Swamp Rabbits.

Pierce Charleson deflected 25 of 28 shots to earn his fifth win of the campaign (5-4-2-0).

With the match report of Greenville Swamp Rabbits

Contact the photographer: Trina.Kirk@prohgockeynews.com