Written by Jake WheelerJACKSONVILLE, FL- The Jacksonville Icemen defeated the Greenville Swamp Rabbits 3-0 thanks to a great performance by goaltender Charles Williams picking up the shutout, while forwards Craig Martin, Abbott Girduckis and defenseman Zach Berzolla picked up the goals.
The Icemen got off to a good start in the game as they had the first sustained offensive zone sequence of the contest. Jacksonville got the scoring started in this contest with defenseman Brandon Fortunato taking a wrist shot from the right face-off dot and it went off the far pad of the Greenville goaltender and forward Craig Martin buried the rebound to continue his hot start to the season. The first period concluded with the Icemen in the lead 1-0 while being outshot 13-9.
Both teams played a very structured and defensive second period with neither team wanting to make a mistake. Icemen goaltender Charles Williams came up big for his squad stopping all 20 shots faced thought the first two periods. With 40 minutes of play in the books, the Icemen led 1-0 with the Swamp Rabbits having the edge in shots on goal 20-19.
The penalty parade picked up in the third period as each team had a powerplay, with the Icemen having the additional powerplay. Late in the period, Icemen forward Jake Elmer made a great spin-a-round pass from behind the net to forward Abbott Girduckis who was set up at the top of the crease. Girduckis buried it to give Jacksonville a two-goal lead.
Following Jacksonville’s second goal, Greenville pulled their goaltender to make it 6-on-5 edge, but defenseman Zach Berzolla shot the puck from the Icemen’s defensive zone to score and take a commanding three-goal lead. The Icemen win 3-0 and Williams earned his 8th career shutout stopping all 28 shots.
The Icemen will now head to Charleston, South Carolina to take on the South Carolina Stingrays this Saturday and Sunday. Jacksonville returns home next Wednesday, December 22 against the Atlanta Gladiators.
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