Written by Jake Wheeler
JACKSONVILLE, FL- The Jacksonville Icemen defeated the Greenville Swamp Rabbits 3-1 as goaltender Francois Brassard made 16 saves to pick up the win. The Icemen got tallies from Jake Elmer, Sean Giles and Ben Hawerchuk in this contest.
The Icemen got off to a good start in the first period as they controlled a lot of the play early on. The Swamp Rabbits weathered the storm and were able to create some offensive zone pressure of their own. The first frame featured both clubs transition game as it was back and forth, but neither team could manage to find the back of the net.
In the second period, Jake Elmer corralled a rebound and made a move around the Swamp Rabbits’ Fitzpatrick to take the first lead of the game. Moments later, the Icemen went back on the powerplay, where they had a few scoring chances, but they were unable to capitalize. Greenville scored halfway through the period as Beauchamp put an innocent wrist shot that found the back of the net to tie the game. Jacksonville would have two consecutive successful penalty kills followed by an unsuccessful powerplay to finish the period. After 40 minutes of play, the game is tied 1-1 with the Icemen outshooting the Swamp Rabbits 23-7.
The Icemen got off to a fantastic start in the third period as defenseman Sean Giles received a pass from defenseman Brandon Fortunato and snapped it past Fitzpatrick to retake the lead. A little past the halfway mark of the third, forward Ethan Szypula was streaking down the right-wing boards and passed it over to forward Ben Hawerchuk and wristed it past Fitzpatrick from the slot to take a two-goal lead. Jacksonville thought they had scored following Hawerchuk’s goal, however, the goal was waved off and the Icemen kept their two-goal lead. The Icemen would have a late powerplay, but they were unable to capitalize. The Swamp Rabbits pulled their goaltender with a few minutes left but they were unable to score with the extra attacker. The Icemen won 3-1 while leading in shots on goal 31-17.
The Icemen face the Greenville Swamp Rabbits at home on Sunday, March 13th at 3pm.
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