For the second straight game, the Jacksonville Icemen were unable to come away with a victory in a tightly contested game. The Greenville Swamp Rabbits were able to hold on in the third period to win, 3-2.
Coming off a rare home victory last night, the Swamp Rabbits continued the momentum early in the first period. Sean Flanagan skated towards the crease and lifted the puck past Austin Lotz at the 3:52 mark in the opening frame. Minutes later, Evan Jasper added to the Greenville lead when he connected on a two-on-one breakaway. However, the Icemen would respond before the buzzer sounded. For the second straight game, the Jacksonville penalty kill proved to be reliable and dangerous as Tanner Eberle scored on a two-on-one advantage to pull the Icemen within a goal.
Early in the second period, Elgin Pearce capitalized on a fortuitous bounce behind the net and beat Ty Rimmer before he could recover to tie the game. That would be the only tally in the frame, as the Icemen out-shot the Swamp Rabbits 12-6. Both teams entered the third period tied, 2-2.
J.T. Henke put Greenville back on top at 5:46 in the third with a wrist shot from the slot that Lotz could not get all of. Despite out-shooting the Swamp Rabbits 12-3 in the final frame, the Icemen would not be able to find the game-tying goal.
Next up, the Icemen travel to Orlando for a meeting with the Solar Bears on Thursday, March 29 to close out the road trip. On March 30, the Icemen return home to take on the South Carolina Stingrays at 7:30 p.m. Click here to get your tickets!