The Greenville Swamp Rabbits played host to South Carolina to help those affected by Hurricane Helene.
Pre-season hockey officially arrived in Greenville Wednesday night as the Swamp Rabbits hosted the South Carolina Stingrays at Bon Secours Wellness Arena. The Stingrays came away with a 4-3 victory after trailing 2-0 in the second period.
While it was only an exhibition that didn’t count in the standings, it did have extra meaning. The “Care As One Community” game benefitted United Way of Greenville County's Community Relief Fund, and a crowd of 4,891 fans helped support efforts in assisting those in need following the aftermath of Hurricane Helene. It was one of the most attended preseason games in the last 10 years of Swamp Rabbits hockey.
The fans were treated to an exciting evening, even as their home team fell short. The Swamp Rabbits jumped out to an early 2-0 lead on goals scored 92 seconds apart.
Stuart Rolofs started the scoring for Greenville after firing a shot through the five-hole of Stingrays starting goalie Seth Eisele to give the Swamp Rabbits a 1-0 lead at the 12:00 mark of the first period, assisted by Arvid Caderoth and Bobby Russell.
Just 90 seconds later, Brent Pedersen scored on a rebound to increase the lead to 2-0. Max Coyle sent a bullet pass to Ben Freeman from his own zone to the opposing blue line. Freeman shrugged off a defender and sent a shot on net that Eisele initially stopped, but Pedersen was able to capitalize on the rebound.
South Carolina scored four unanswered goals over the next two periods, including two in the second frame to tie the score at 2-2.
Jeremy Davidson grabbed a rebound close to the crease, slipping by Kolby Hay to give the Stingrays their first lead at 3-2 at 4:08 of the third, with Ben Hawerchuk getting the helper.
South Carolina’s final tally came with 8:20 left when Jack Adams fed a pass to Ryan Leibold in the neutral zone. After getting past a defender, Leibold fired a missile over Hay’s glove to push the Stingrays to a 4-2 lead.
Greenville scored a desperation goal after pulling their goaltender. With 1:01 to play, Freeman rifled a shot on the back door to pull his club to within one at 4-3, but the Stingrays withstood a late flurry and came away with the win.
The Swamp Rabbits now look forward to Opening Night, presented by Bon Secours, on Oct. 18 against the Orlando Solar Bears. The evening features a pregame party on the Furman Plaza with an orange carpet introduction of the 2024-25 Swamp Rabbits, music, a rally towel giveaway, and more!
The Stingrays will have their home opener Saturday, Oct. 19 against the Solar Bears at North Charleston Arena. Opening night festivities kick off with a Hock-toberfest pre-game party and magnet schedule giveaway.