Written by Jake Wheeler
JACKSONVILLE, FL- The Jacksonville Icemen fell to the Greenville Swamp Rabbits 2-0 as Greenville’s Jacob Ingham was stellar in goal stopping all 30 shots faced. The Icemen had all of the momentum in the third period, but the first 30 seconds of the game ultimately cost them in the end.
The Swamp Rabbits wasted little time to get on the board, scoring 30 seconds into the game as they entered the Icemen zone on a line rush and Max Zimmer snapped the puck home from the left faceoff dot.
The Icemen got off to a better start in the second period as they tried to push the pace and set the tone early on. The second period featured more back-and-forth play as each team had pockets of sustained offensive zone pressure.
Jacksonville was able to activate their defenseman more in the offensive zone which confused Greenville as the coverage assignments became intertwined. The Icemen received a powerplay in the period, but just like their first man advantage, they could not get much going. The Swamp Rabbits would then have a powerplay of their own, but the Icemen penalty killers did a great job of not allowing Greenville many opportunities. The score remained 1-0 after two periods.
The Icemen outshot the Swamp Rabbits 16-2 in the third period, but Greenville goaltender Jacob Ingham was able to turn all the shots aside.
Late in the period, the Icemen pulled the goaltender and had an extra attacker to try and tie the game, however, the Swamp Rabbits would score an empty net goal courtesy of Brett Kemp. The Icemen tried to rally and battle back but they lost 2-0 while outshooting the Swamp Rabbits 30-16.
The Icemen are in Estero on Wednesday, March 16th at 7:30 pm as they face off against the Florida Everblades. They’ll be back home on Friday, March 18, Saturday, March 19 and Sunday March 20 against the Atlanta Gladiators for the start of Military Appreciation Weekend.
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