Written by Noah Epstein
GREENVILLE, S.C. -- Down by one in the second period, the Jacksonville Icemen scored three straight goals to take control of the game, leading them to a 4-3 win over the Swamp Rabbits on Wednesday night. The Icemen reach the 40+ win mark for the fourth consecutive season.
The three consecutive goals were scored by Olivier Nadeau (25), Liam Coughlin (15) and Davis Koch (13), giving the Icemen a 4-2 advantage heading into the third period.
Nadeau’s team-leading 25th goal occurred on the power play – the second Jacksonville man-advantage goal of the contest. The first was scored by Christopher Brown to give the Icemen a 1-0 lead just over halfway through the opening stanza.
Nadeau’s power-play score tied the game at 2. He then assisted Coughlin’s go-ahead goal under three minutes late
Koch scored less than two minutes after Coughlin, giving the Icemen a commanding 4-2 lead, along with all the momentum.
During all the goal scoring for the Icemen, the Swamp Rabbits had their fair share of opportunities. They managed 19 shots on net in the period, succeeding on one of them – Carter Savoie’s second goal of the evening.
Greenville ended up with 45 shots on net to Jacksonville’s 32, with goaltender Justen Close saving 42/45 and coming up with several key stops down the stretch. Close also had a key assist on Coughlin's goal in the second period.
Despite John Parker-Jones scoring for Greenville 73 seconds into the third, the Icemen held on for the 4-3 victory, snapping a three-game losing skid and securing their 40th win of the campaign.
Jacksonville now has 88 points on the season, remaining in third place in the South. The Icemen play Greenville again on Friday, this time at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena. Puck drop is at 7 p.m.
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