#CalebHerbert

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CANTLON'S CORNER: WOLF PACK OFF-SEASON VOLUME 4

BY: Gerry Cantlon, Howlings HARTFORD, CT - The Calder Cup playoffs have their final four teams set to battle to for an opportunity to win the 2018-19 AHL Championship. On Friday, the Charlotte Checkers and Toronto Marlies will do battle in the East while out West, the San Diego Gulls and Chicago Wolves will each meet in a 2-3-2 format. Charlotte hosts Games One and Two against Toronto on Friday and Saturday before the series switches over the Canadian border to Toronto on Tuesday. Charlotte, the AHL's regular-season best team, winners of seven of their eight postseason matchups face the Toronto Marlies, who are a perfect 7-0 since the season ended. Toronto features ex-Pack, Chris Mueller, who has nine points in seven playoff games. Mason Marchment, the son of ex-Hartford Whaler Bryan Marchment, and ex-Sound Tiger, Steve Olesky, and former New York Ranger, Josh Jooris. Charlotte features a pair of ex-Pack members from different era’s in Bobby Sanguinetti, who has seven points in six games, and goaltender, Dustin Tokarski. Chicago hosts the Gulls before they head out West from the Windy City for Game 3 on Wednesday. San Diego has former Wolf Pack center, Adam Cracknell, who's third in AHL post-season scoring race with 12 points in nine games. He's having a strong playoff as is Max Jones, the son of former Nighthawk, Brad Jones. Behind the bench is former Beast of New Haven alumni, Dallas Eakins. He's the head man and his assistants are ex-Wolf Pack players in Sylvain Lefebvre and David Urquhart. The Chicago Wolves have defenseman ex-Sound Tiger, Griffin Reinhart, and Jake Leschyshyn, the son of ex-Whaler, Curtis Leschyshyn. ECHL MONARCHS FOLD Sad hockey new to report the ECHL Manchester Monarchs are no more after 18 years in New Hampshire. The team announced Wednesday there ceasing operations after four years at the ECHL level after the NHL LA Kings moved their AHL affiliate to Ontario, CA to help build the new AHL West Coast-based Pacific Division and flip-flopped the teams and leagues. There many great Wolf Pack-Manchester meetings over the years and the SNHU Arena (formerly Verizon Wireless Arena) was sterling hit with many a packed house, but the drop down in league levels met with a corresponding reduction in attendance and Kings sold the team to a private group in Boston three years ago. Read it HERE MEMORIAL CUP The quartet is all set as the Prince Albert Raiders scoring late in the first overtime edged the Vancouver Giants 3-2 to advance to the championship tournament for the first time since 1985. They will kick off the Memorial Cup playing the host team the Halifax Mooseheads on Friday night (8 pm NHL Network). The other teams are the OHL champion Guelph Storm and the QMJHL postseason champs, the Rouyn Noranda Huskies. Guelph features two assistant coaches with CT connections. Ex-Pack Chad Wiseman and ex-New Haven Senator Jake Grimes and the Huskies have former New Haven Senator teammate of Grimes in Claude Savoie on their scouting staff. The Raiders feature two former Springfield players as coaches in Marc Habscheid (Springfield Indians) and Jeff Truitt (head coach with the Springfield Falcons) and have former Whaler, Dallas Guame as one of the senior scouts. NEWEST CT JUNIOR HOCKEY TEAM The Danbury Ice Arena added a second hockey tenant within two days. The Danbury Colonials announced their birth as the 31st team in the Tier 3 NA3HL that spreads across the US from Wyoming to Maine. The team’s managing partner is none other than former Ranger and NHL enforcer, Colton Orr. He is a part of the ownership for both squads. Orr played 13 NHL season with 477 games with 12 goals and 24 points and 1,186 well-earned PM and was one of the fiercest fighters in NHL history. His total career including the AHL and junior WHL career is 817 games with 34 goals and 31 assists and 2,364 in the penalty box. The FHL announced a third return to Danbury with Danbury Hat Tricks for 2019-20 earlier in the week.   PLAYER MOVEMENTS -Ex-Wolf Pack and CT Whale Jordan Owens who played with the Sheffield Steelers (England-EIHL) this season signs for some summer hockey with the Melbourne Ice (Australia-AIHL). Ex-Pack Caleb Herbert signs with HC Innsbruck (Austria-EBEL). -Some AHL players to Europe has begun to pick up the latest is Bridgeport Connor Jones is joining his twin brother Kellen as both have signed with HC Thurgau (Switzerland-LNB) for next season. Kellen played on Sweden last year leading Vasterviks VIK (Sweden-Allsvenskan) in scoring. Connor played 300 AHL games all with Bridgeport. Both played for the Quinnipiac University Bobcats (ECACHL). The two are grandsons of former New Haven Blades player, Terry Jones. Jens Looke heads from Tucson to Timra IK (Sweden-SHL), goalie Anthony Peters from Wilkes Barre/Scranton to Iserlohn (Germany-DEL) and Springfield’s Vincent Praplan currently playing for the Swiss World Hockey championship team will stay in is Switzerland and play for NLA league SC Bern squad next season. Adam Ollas Mattsson of Stockton is in talks with Malmo IF (Sweden-SHL) a city on the Norway-Sweden border to return home to play according to Swedish Hockey News.se As we reported last month is now official Ludwig Bystrom is leaving Springfield for Karpat Oulu (Finland-FEL). That makes now 16 AHL’ers to sign for Europe. -Three more college players have signed North American pro deals Jack Ramsay from the University of Minnesota (Big 10) who played a few games for Indy (ECHL) at the end of the regular season signs with the Rockford for 2019-20. Joining him in Rockford is Liam Coughlin from the University of Vermont (HE). Kasper Bjorkqvist, Providence College (HE) signs with the Pittsburgh Penguins. -The first player to go from college to Canadian major junior has happened as Sean Comrie leaves University Denver (NCHC) to the Kelowna Rockets (WHL). -The college players to Europe has picked up as UCONN Husky rearguard Philip Nyberg 22, heads home after his junior season to play for Mora IK (Sweden-Allsvenskan) which is the second highest league in Sweden. -The college players heading to France continues at Division 1 level as Michael Babcock son of the Maple Leafs head coach Mike completed his four years at Merrimack (HE) and has signed with Amiens (France–FREL) and Michael Floodstrand Harvard University (ECACHL) to Marseille (France Division-1). Then two players from Division III Hobart College Tanner Shaw and Matt Pizzo signed with Strasbourg (France Division-1) and Alex Corvi Nazareth College (UCHC) signs with HC Brest (France Division-1). That makes it 171 Division I players that have and a total of 204 collegians who have signed North American and European pro deals. -Several prep school players are off to the Canadian Junior A ranks in Moe Acee from Avon Old Farms to Alberni Valley (BCHL) and Noah de la Durantaye from Deerfield Academy to Coquitlam (BCHL). -Chase Stillman, grandson of ex-Nighthawk Bud Stefanski who was drafted by the Sudbury Wolves in the 2nd round in last month’s OHL’s Priority Draft. His father Cory is the head coach and grandfather is the assistant coach of the team has signed a commitment letter with the Wolves. That also makes him ineligible to play NCAA hockey and he gave a verbal commit Providence College (HE) for 2022-23. -Dan Petric makes a commit to Sacred Heart University (AHA) from Madison (USHL) for the upcoming season. Read the full article

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KEELEY: MARINERS DOWN UTAH IN SHOOTOUT TO CAP WILD NIGHT

The game features 56 penalty minutes but Mariners pull out the shootout win BY: Michael Keeley, Maine Mariners  WEST VALLEY CITY, UT – March 1, 2019 – Dillan Fox scored twice in the second period and came up with the lone goal of a four-round shootout as the Mariners took their second straight game in Utah, by a 4-3 final on Friday night at the Maverik Center. It was Maine’s tenth consecutive win in overtime or shootout contests. After a scoreless opening period, the teams traded goals in the first 3:48 of the second. Dillan Fox blocked a shot at the Mariners blue line and darted up ice, beating Grizzlies goaltender Joe Cannata low stick side for a 1-0 Mariners lead. Just 36 seconds later, Cole Ully beat Hannu Toivonen glove side for his 2nd goal of the weekend to tie it up. Fox struck again at 5:49 of the period with a shot between the circles past Cannata, another unassisted goal.  At 6:57 of the period, Ryan Walters was assessed a total of seven minutes in penalties, giving the Mariners an extended power play. Despite not generating much with the man advantage, Johnny McInnis scored with a backhand on a net drive at 13:55 of the period during 4-on-4 play. Assists went to Derek Pratt and Ryan Ferrill and the Mariners led 3-1 through two periods. The penalties kept coming in the third, and Utah’s Caleb Herbert capitalized on an early power play when the puck bounced wildly in front of Hannu Toivonen at 3:12 of the period. Maine’s eventual 0-for-12 power play night finally burned them when Josh Dickinson tied the game with a shorthanded breakaway goal at the 10:12 mark. The Grizzlies had seven power-play chances of their own in the game, finishing 1/7. Toivonen came up with a big save on a Dickinson breakaway in OT, as the Mariners were outshot 4-1 in the extra period. The Mariners then played their second shootout in a three-game span. The goaltenders were perfect through the first three rounds as Cannata stopped Greg Chase, Michael McNicholas, and Taylor Cammarata while Toivonen stopped Dickinson, Herbert, and Ully. Fox wristed a shot past Cannata in the fourth round and Toivonen came up with a save on Mitch Maxwell to seal the win. Toivonen earned his 5th win with 30 saves, while Cannata stopped 36 of 39 for his second loss of the series. The Mariners and Grizzlies conclude their series at the Maverik Center on Saturday night at 9:05 PM ET. Maine is back home on Wednesday, March 6th at 7:00 to host the Norfolk Admirals in a “sensory reduced game” as part of Autism Awareness Night. Tickets can be purchased at MarinersOfMaine.com or by calling the Trusted Choice Box Office at 207-775-3458. Read the full article

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KEELEY: MARINERS SCORE FOUR UNANSWERED GOALS FOR ROAD WIN IN UTAH

Three-spot in the third lifts Maine to 8th win in last 9 games BY: Michael Keeley, Maine Mariners  WEST VALLEY CITY, UT – February 27, 2019 – Terrence Wallin’s shorthanded goal early in the 3rd broke a 1-1 tie and the Mariners added a pair of insurance goals to cruise to a 4-1 win over the Utah Grizzlies on Wednesday night at the Maverik Center. The Mariners improved to 8-1-0 in their last nine games and pulled within one point of third place in the North Division. Utah scored 1:07 into the game, quickly converting on a power play after Ryan Ferrill’s slashing penalty. Cole Ully, who was playing in his first game since December 29th on return from injury, tipped home a pass from Caleb Herbert to give Utah the early edge. The Mariners picked up their game but trailed 1-0 after 20 minutes. The second period was highlighted by penalties, including a Mariners 5-on-3 chance at 5:35 when Joey Raats was called for cross-checking and Josh Anderson went for unsportsmanlike conduct on the same play. Despite coming up empty on their two-man advantage, Greg Chase got the equalizer at 11:11, ripping a shot through a Grizzlies-induced screen. It was Chase’s 9th goal of February, assisted by Terrence Wallin and Dillan Fox. With less than a second remaining in the period, John Furgele was called for interference. At 3:47 of the third, with Maine shorthanded again, Terrence Wallin blocked a shot at the right point and broke in alone on Joe Cannata, beating him stick side to give the Mariners their first lead. It was Maine’s 9th shorthanded goal of the season and also the 9th allowed by Utah. Defenseman Josh Couturier provided insurance when he beat Cannata with a shot off the crossbar and in at 9:52 to make it 3-1. For good measure, Taylor Cammarata led a 2-on-1 rush at 15:56 and added a fourth goal. Connor LaCouvee earned his 10th win, making 31 saves. Cannata stopped 24 of 28 in the loss. The Grizzlies have dropped six consecutive games. After an off day tomorrow, the Mariners and Grizzlies resume their series on Friday and Saturday with a pair of 9:05 ET faceoffs at the Maverik Center. Maine is back home on Wednesday, March 6th at 7:00 to host the Norfolk Admirals in a “sensory reduced game” as part of Autism Awareness Night. Tickets can be purchased at MarinersOfMaine.com or by calling the Trusted Choice Box Office at 207-775-3458. Read the full article

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CANTLON: WOLF PACK MAJOR THREE-IN-THREE DIVISION WEEKEND

BY: Gerry Cantlon, Howlings HARTFORD, CT - The wound needs time to heal. The loss of captain Cole Schneider via trade on Monday had far more impact than the trade last year of Joe Whitney. The loss was palpable. “The first practice (Tuesday) was tough. It was like losing a family member as Cole was a big part of our family,” said Pack head coach Keith McCambridge, who wore the C the last three years with the defunct Alaska Aces (ECHL). “Your leaders wear letters for a reason. Whenever you take those pieces out of your dressing room those are big shoes to fill. We're gonna have to fill that void in leadership. The person who wears the 'C' has a strong voice in the room. We do lose the many things Cole brought to the table, but we get a player back with significant AHL experience." Before the question was finished, McCambridge laid out the leadership equation for the remainder of the regular season. “We're going with three A’s. Peter Holland will have an A on his jersey (Friday) night. When you set and design your team, you have a captain, but we're now past the halfway part of the season. We have the structure in place. It really is a credit to them that we have had such a solid leadership corp this season. It’s like an eight-cylinder engine. You lose a spark plug and trying to fill it in. Time will tell how this new leadership structure will work. Cole was a hard working individual who poured his heart and soul into this. The tough business side of things is never easy.” Whether it works or not is anyone's guess, but one thing for sure is that telling the players on a way to move forward is not an easy task. “I told them he was a part of our family starting from September and you hope till early June (Calder Cup Final time) you're together as a family. I really like this group. They get along well together, and a piece of our family was taken away. I always speak from the heart to the team,” McCambridge said. McCambridge was channeling his captain’s player role, not so much being their head coach “I liked Cole a lot. He was a good man. I like what he represented. Now, we have to pick up the slack in a leadership void and what he brought (to the team) on the ice as well.” Holland has eight years of pro experience and this never gets easy. "We're bummed out for sure. That is the tough part of the business, and we signed up for it, and we all know the possibilities," Holland said. "Our lives can be tossed into a blender and get traded away.” Holland has felt the sting of trades as well. “It’s a big hole in the locker room for sure.“ The loss of Schneider is genuinely being felt throughout the locker room. “He’ll be hard to replace and missed. He was a vocal leader and he held guys accountable in a good way, guys respected him. It’s gonna hurt in the mentoring role we have had with the younger guys, this is a big lesson to learn. Certainly, his offense will be missed, so, it means we all have to step in in our own way to fill that void. It does suck that’s for sure.” Holland was one of the first to learn Schneider had been dealt. “I got a text from him saying that he had been traded and I really thought he was joking because there was inkling this was coming. I tried to Facetime with him and got no response for awhile he was talking with family and friends and it started to dawn on me this might be more real than I thought. We live in the same building and it’s a short elevator ride down…it was kinda crazy. He was very surprised by it.”. When Holland was traded from Anaheim to Toronto he was in a different place than he is now. “First time I got traded I was 20-21 years old. A young guy, a single guy and I thought it was a big deal, it wasn’t. You pack up one place and away you go. It gets a lot harder as you get older, It gets to be a bigger deal. You have live-in girlfriends, pets and in some cases kids or kids in school. The amount of (anxiety) increases tremendously, and it’s a huge change in your life when you're traded in the next 12 hours you're gone! You need friends and family to pick up the piece when you have to leave, it’s a big scramble.” He saw the same thing while in the NHL. “I was with the Leafs when Dion Phaneuf got traded. Even if you know it might be coming, it’s still a shock to the system. One day there's a nameplate on the locker, and the next day it's empty. Teams are like family. It's tough.” Now, sporting the "A" stitched to his jersey, a few more bricks are riding on his shoulders. “We have a good leadership group. It's an opportunity for everybody to take on new roles within the team. It adds a little more pressure to do some of the things Cole did here.” For Connor Brickley, he was on the other side of the trade. His adventure was equally wild. He arrived in Hartford at midnight and had his first practice Thursday. “I had woken up from my pre-game nap. We're in Winnipeg to play the Manitoba Moose. I was waking up around 4 pm (Central time) my phone was going off with text messages from friends and (management). I don’t have a Canadian phone plan, so it wasn’t dialing out. So, I had to borrow my roommate's (Jared Tinordi) phone to make a few calls and found out I wouldn’t be playing that night." Brickley was tempered in responding to how much he knew. “There had been rumblings, but I really didn’t expect anything. It's always nice to get a new opportunity and it's nice to be wanted. It’s a fresh start for me and gives me a chance to show the Rangers what I can put on display.” Brickley is familiar with the XL Center having played for the Portland Pirates for two years. Brickley is playing for a contract since his current one-year deal expires in June. “Fans will see a fast, hard-working forward who can play physical and get the puck to the net and get some gritty goals," Brickley said. "I’m really looking forward to it.” The deal caught people by surprise, but those on the inside, this was in the works in two stages, one in November, and the other over the past two weeks. A knowledgeable source filled Cantlon’s Corner in on the details. “Nashville actually was offered Schneider back in November, but they declined. The Rangers really had zeroed in on Brickley in the last month, and over the last two weeks things got serious and the deal was made.” McCambridge was able to say out loud, in a dark-humored way, what everybody is thinking. “Players are smart. They know what's going on around them. When you have that many people (captains) traded in a row it does become the proverbial “kiss of death." Sadly, the captaincy in Hartford once so revered has become just that. BIG WEEKEND No way to underestimate how important this three-in-three is. It cannot be overstated. The Wolf Pack are above the .500 mark at 18-17-2-2 (40 points) and sit in seventh place in the Atlantic Division. They are four points behind the Springfield Thunderbirds, and three points behind the current eighth place, Toronto Marlies. They want to keep in the hunt for the final playoff spot. On this weekend they'll have three solid chances to make a dent in that pursuit as they host Lehigh Valley Friday, Springfield Saturday and Monday afternoon in Providence. Holland is keenly aware of the importance the second half of this season and its overall importance to the younger players developmentally. “I can speak from experience. When I was with the Toronto Marlies in my third year as a pro, we had a phenomenal run. We lost in Game 7 to Texas, who went on to win (the Calder Cup) against Keith (McCambridge's) team when he was in St. John’s. It's so much fun playing hockey at that time of year. You work all year to get there, and if you don’t make the playoffs, you don’t know what you're missing. For guys who have been there, you gotta sell the guys who maybe had some experience in junior and college, its different at this (AHL) level.” We know all three teams this weekend very well. They all bring very strong offensive teams and we're gonna have to beat teams that are ahead of us (to make the playoffs). We have to focus on what we need to do, playing good sound team defense is key.” These are huge divisional games for us and at this point, there is just a half season left. We need the points.” McCambridge is keenly aware of the standings and the big push is now on. “You have a lot of teams jockeying for that position in our division. There is an opening there and everybody has their eyes on it. We were happy we beat Springfield. We lost the two games with Providence, so we didn’t do ourselves any favors. We have to be consistently gathering points at this stage of the season. Lehigh Valley is a really good team, offensively-minded, and we had a very good game against them last time. They remember it. They're a transition and fast team and all the more reason we have to have a strong start.” The Pack lost Ryan Lindgren to recall to the Rangers, and the Wolf Pack will have just six defensemen with Sean Day, who will be in the line-up, but the recall for Lindgren (now wearing jersey 55) brought a smile to McCambridge’s face amid dealing with the fall out of the Schneider trade. “I’m happy for him. You're happy when they get that call and for myself, it's nice to watch him play his first NHL game, and as many times you make those calls, when guys get the opportunity to achieve their lifetime goal to play in the NHL, those calls never get old.” NOTES: UPDATE: Sunday’s game with Providence has been postponed to MLK Jr. Day Monday at 3:05 pm at the Dunkin’ Arena in Providence.*** Brickley will wear the number 23 for the Wolf Pack. Schneider wore 25 in his first game with the Admirals. He had three shots on goal and no points in Winnipeg. Lehigh Valley reassigned goalie Brandon Komm, who played his first AHL game last time the Phantoms were in town. He goes to Reading (ECHL) and Anthony Stolarz was sent down for a conditioning stint by the Flyers. He will likely start in net against the Pack. Dustin Tokarski gets the call for the Wolf Pack. Another day, another AHL-style trade as Lehigh Valley will receive Justin Bailey from Rochester, a big forward who heads to upstate New York, Tyler Leier. Since Christmas nine AHL level trades have been made and were now just five weeks out from the NHL Trading deadline. Usually, these trades occur just before or after the deadline. This is an inordinate amount and shows how much cap tweaking is going on in preparation for a potential work stoppage in 2020-21. Steven Fogarty (concussion) is listed as day-to-day. McCambridge is hoping he gets clearance and can get in one game this weekend. Shawn O’Donnell (upper body) is doubtful for the weekend, but he is hoping he might be ready by mid-week (against Springfield) next week. Terrance Wallin is back from Maine was signed to a PTO deal. “He’s been a very reliable player for us, important centerman for us and has stepped into several roles for us and he will be in the lineup this weekend.” Springfield lost JT Brown to recall by Florida. The Sound Tigers reassigned former Yale Bulldog Ryan Hitchcock to Worcester (ECHL), and goalie, Alex Nedejlkovic, was recalled by Carolina from Charlotte. A lineup addition possibility for the Lehigh Valley Phantoms could have been ex-Wolf Pack/CT Whale Dale Weise, who cleared NHL waivers on Wednesday, and is now eligible to be reassigned to the Phantoms. As of Noon, Friday Weise has yet to be assigned by Philadelphia who scratched him from the Boston game Wednesday night. He was on waivers at the start of the season and not claimed. Weise’s now 30 years old. His only AHL duty was in Hartford in 2011. He played 194 games with 57 goals and 111 points and since then he has played 481 NHL games with Vancouver, Montreal, Chicago and Philadelphia. The always verbose Winnipegger has one more year left of a four-year $9.4 million dollar deal he signed with departed Flyers GM Ron Hextall at a $2.5 million cap hit next year. Ex-CT Whale and friend of Weise’s, defenseman, Michael Del Zotto was traded by Vancouver to Anaheim Max Jones, the son of ex-Nighthawk Brad Jones, was recalled from San Diego by Anaheim. Ex-Pack Ryan Graves was returned to Colorado (AHL) by the Avalanche and ex-Pack Caleb Herbert departed the Colorado Eagles to Utah (ECHL). Ex-QU Bobcat Jordan Samuels-Thomas (South Windsor) who had been playing with Medvescak Zagreb (Croatia-EBEL) signs a PTO deal with Hershey. Former Sound Tiger Nino Niederreiter has changed NHL addresses going from Minnesota to Carolina. Goalie Callum Booth (Salisbury Prep) was reassigned to Reading (ECHL) by Charlotte. Ex-CT Whale defenseman and all around good guy Pavel Valentenko was traded from Uzhny- Ural Orsk (Russia-VHL) to Yugra-Khanty (Russia-VHL), Lukas Znosko (Stamford) was let go by Zaglebie Sosnowice (Poland-PZIHL). Read the full article

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KUHNS: SWAMP RABBITS WEEKLY #11

 Greenville tied with Norfolk as holiday break begins BY: Jordan Kuhns, Greenville Swamp Rabbits Greenville, SC - The week, the Swamp Rabbits moved closer to the thick of the South Division race with a successful week. Two wins put them tied with the Norfolk Admirals in the standings, with the Admirals facing a complete free-fall in the standings, having lost nine games in a row. The Rabbits also find themselves four points back of the Orlando Solar Bears for the fourth and final playoff spot in the South Division closing in on the halfway point of the season. The week started with a character win on Wednesday in Atlanta. The Glads scored the opening goal late in the first period on the power play. Greenville tied it thanks to the red-hot Thomas Ebbing, but it was the Gladiators in the third period, just 32 seconds in, who would take the lead again. Cue the comeback. Johno May continued his outstanding campaign by scoring the game-tying goal, and 90 seconds later, for the first time in the night, the Swamp Rabbits grabbed the lead. The newly constructed line of Brendan Harms, Michael Pelech, and game-winning goal scorer Will Merchant, connected to seal up the win. Up next was the South Carolina Stingrays, who made their first visit to the Bon Secours Wellness Arena in the 2018–19 season. Much like the last meeting between the two teams, the Swamp Rabbits fell into a 3-0 hole to the visiting Rays and got the game within a goal. Shane Eiserman put the game out of reach with a power-play goal late in the second period and the Rays held on to the 4-3 lead to complete the victory. Saturday saw the reverse. Greenville jumped out to a 3-0 lead, with two goals in the second period, and one more in the third. May, Harms, and Ebbing all scored to extend the lead further and further away. But, as the new game of hockey has shown, no lead is safe. Two power play goals and one more at even strength by South Carolina within fewer than five minutes drew the game even and sent it to overtime. Thankfully, the Rabbits' leading goal scorer, May, scored a gorgeous OT winner at the 2:37 mark of the extra session to pick up the win and complete a 2-1-0 week heading into the holiday break. 12/19 @ Atlanta Gladiators - W 3-2 12/21 vs. South Carolina Stingrays - L 4-3 12/22 vs. South Carolina Stingrays - W 4-3 PLAYER OF THE WEEK Michael Pelech - 3 GP | 1 G - 4 A - 5 P Captain Michael Pelech has a four-game point streak rolling, and he was a difference maker in all three games over the past week. He tallied the primary assist on the game-winning goal from Will Merchant on Wednesday, almost singlehandedly willed the Swamp Rabbits back into the game on Friday against South Carolina facing a 3-0 deficit with a three-point effort, and posted an assist on Saturday en route to the 4-3 win over the Rays. Pelech is tied for fourth in league scoring with 33 points, just five back of Utah's Caleb Herbert, and is tied for the third-most assists in the league with 22. RABBIT TAILS The Greenville Swamp Rabbits continue to hold two of the top scorers in the ECHL. Michael Pelech is tied for the fourth-most points with 33, and Johno May is right behind him with 29, good for eighth. After this weekend, Greenville will be sick of South Carolina and Florida. 10 of the last 12 games after Saturday will have been played against the Rays or the 'Blades. And, on the horizon, the Swamp Rabbits will play the Everblades three more times on January 9, 11 and 12. The power play has continued to chug along for the Swamp Rabbits this season. Now at 17.3%, their 23 power play goals are the sixth-most in the league and have the 10th-best power play success percentage. Home or road hasn't mattered. At home, the Swamp Rabbits are 17.2%, and on the road, 17.4%. UPCOMING GAMES Friday, December 28 | vs. Florida Everblades | 7:00 p.m. Tickets | Watch | Listen Saturday, December 29 | vs. Florida Everblades | 7:00 p.m. - Star Wars Night Tickets | Watch | Listen SOUTH DIVISION STANDINGS Florida Everblades (18-6-5) - 41 pts South Carolina Stingrays (18-12-1) - 37 pts Jacksonville Icemen (17-11-1) - 35 pts Orlando Solar Bears (14-11-3) - 31 pts Norfolk Admirals (12-15-3) - 27 pts Greenville Swamp Rabbits (12-18-3) - 27 pts Atlanta Gladiators (6-15-6) - 18 pts *standings as of 10:00 a.m. on December 24, 2018 Read the full article

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KUHNS: SWAMP RABBITS WEEKLY #9

Swamp Rabbits notch win #10 with home stretch looming (photo: Gary Bassing) BY: Jordan Kuhns, Greenville Swamp Rabbits Greenville, SC: In need of closing the gap against their South Division contemporaries, the Greenville Swamp Rabbits picked up key wins against their closest competition but fell short against the South's top team, the Florida Everblades. All in all, they did close the gap and are right in the thick of the fight for positioning as the team has passed the one-third mark of the season. The week started with a tussle against the South Carolina Stingrays. Chris Nell continued his strong play in between the pipes for the Swamp Rabbits since his acquisition and put forth a masterpiece. He made 26 saves to steady the ship, including 15 of them in period one alone, and the team got a clutch goal from Dylan Vander Esch with just under five minutes to play in regulation time to stun the Stingrays. It pulled the team within a point of the Solar Bears and the Stingrays, who have gone in opposite directions since that game. Friday night's game in Estero was the classic case of throwing everything but the kitchen sink at the opposition and needing to perhaps throw the kitchen sink. The Swamp Rabbits shot 38 pucks at the Florida net, and goaltender Jamie Phillips stopped 36 of them. The only two he could not stop were two of six shots taken by ECHL rookie goal-scoring leader Johno May, who pulled Greenville within a goal late in regulation. Everblades forward Nate Perkovich added his second of the game, an empty-netter, to seal the win for the home club. Saturday night saw the opportunity to pick up the win, with the Swamp Rabbits hanging tough against a difficult Everblades club. Any time Greenville tied the game or even had a lead, it was immediately erased. Will Merchant's goal to give the Swamp Rabbits a 2-1 lead was answered 44 seconds later. Trevor Owens' goal that tied the game at three was answered 38 seconds later. Austen Brassard's goal that tied the game at four was answered four minutes and 44 seconds later. The Everblades, again, got the game-winner from Perkovich and got the weekend sweep. It took a gutsy effort on Sunday afternoon in a quick turnaround against an idle and rested Orlando Solar Bears club to get to .500 for the week, and that is exactly what happened. Five points from captain Michael Pelech and three goals in the second period to go from behind 3-2 to ahead 5-3 was enough. May also tallied twice in the game to take the rookie scoring lead with 14 goals. Nell stopped an avalanche of shots his way, 35 of 39, to win his second effort of the week, and four of his last five efforts. The Swamp Rabbits were, if anything, efficient, shooting 28% for the game, and 50% in the first period alone. 12/4 @ South Carolina - W 2-1 12/7 @ Florida - L 4-2 12/8 @ Florida - L 5-4 12/9 @ Orlando - W 7-4 PLAYER OF THE WEEK Thomas Ebbing - 4 GP | 1 G - 5 A - 6 P The unsung hero of the week was forward Thomas Ebbing, who picked up the fourth-most points in the ECHL this past week with six. Incredibly, all three games he scored points in were multi-point efforts, including assists on both Greenville goals in the win over South Carolina, assists on two of Greenville's four goals on Saturday, and a decisive tally and an apple against Orlando on Sunday. 60% of Ebbing's scoring this season was done this past week, and he is a rising stock in the Swamp Rabbits' lineup moving into a strong stable of opponents this week. RABBIT TAILS To complete the trade with the Reading that sent Joe Houk to the Royals, the Swamp Rabbits acquired defenseman Adam Larkin. Larkin has played in 13 games for the Royals, notching 3 points in the process. He is the cousin of Dylan Larkin, a forward with the NHL's Detroit Red Wings. Four goals from Johno May this past week put him past Newfoundland Growlers forwards Brady Ferguson, Giorgio Estephan and Scott Pooley for the ECHL lead in rookie goals, and at the top of the leaderboard in rookie scoring with 25 points. His 14 tallies have him tied for the third-most in the ECHL overall, trailing Kalamazoo's Justin Taylor, and Utah's Caleb Herbert. Swamp Rabbits forward Travis Howe was called up to the AHL's Tucson Roadrunners ahead of the weekend, and immediately did what he does best. In his only game for Tucson, he got into a fight with Ontario Reign forward Boko Imama. Howe got the win and the takedown, as he does often. Six of the next eight games for the Greenville Swamp Rabbits will be at home. The Swamp Rabbits are 5-5-2-0 at the Bon Secours Wellness Arena this season. Thursday's game against the Florida Everblades will be the first home game since Atlanta was in town on December 1. Only six teams have not been to a shootout this season. The Greenville Swamp Rabbits join every team in the South Division except the Jacksonville Icemen and the Norfolk Admirals in that category. UPCOMING GAMES Thursday, December 13 | vs. Florida Everblades | 7:00 p.m. Tickets | Watch | Listen Friday, December 14 | vs. Florida Everblades | 7:30 p.m. | Teddy Bear Toss Night - Sing for Santa #2 Tickets | Watch | Listen Saturday, December 15 | @ South Carolina Stingrays | 7:05 p.m. Watch | Listen SOUTH DIVISION STANDINGS Florida Everblades (14-5-4-0) - 32 pts South Carolina Stingrays (14-11-0-0) - 28 pts Jacksonville Icemen (13-9-1-0) - 27 pts Norfolk Admirals (12-10-1-1) - 26 pts Orlando Solar Bears (11-9-2-0) - 24 pts Greenville Swamp Rabbits (10-14-3-0) - 23 pts Atlanta Gladiators (5-12-4-0) - 14 pts   *standings as of 10:00 a.m. on December 10, 2018 Read the full article

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TOSTI: SWAMP RABBITS COMPLETE HUGER 2-FOR-1 TRADE WITH GRIZZLIES

Greenville executes a blockbuster trade with Utah to acquire top-end veteran and enforcer BY: Brian Tosti, Greenville Swamp Rabbits Greenville, SC – The Greenville Swamp Rabbits announced today that the club has acquired forwards Michael Pelech and Travis Howe from the Utah Grizzlies in exchange for the negotiating rights to forward Caleb Herbert. Both Pelech and Howe have already signed contracts for the upcoming 2018-19 season. Herbert was sent a qualifying offer by Greenville but had not yet signed a contract for the year. “We have been working to complete this trade for some time now. Being able to grab two players like Mike and Travis was a high priority for us,” said coach Kerr. “We’re excited to have Mike’s leadership and skill in addition to the grit and tenacity that he brings to a lineup. For Travis, I coached him a few years ago and he has emerged into one of the most physical players in the ECHL. “We want to thank Caleb for his time in Greenville,” he continued. “He’s a very skilled player in this league and we wish him the best of luck in his career.” Pelech, 28, has played over 600 professional hockey games including 570 ECHL contests that span his nine-year career. The veteran skater has also collected 423 points (135G, 288A) and 985 PIMS in the ECHL. Last season with Utah, Pelech ranked third on the team with 49 points (18G, 31A) and 114 PIMS. In addition to his resume, the forward also brings 52 postseason appearances, 33 points (12G, 21A) in the playoffs, and an Eastern Conference Final appearance in 2013. (Editor's note: Pelech played 7 games for the Connecticut Whale - nee Hartford Wolf Pack - in 2012-13 where he had 8 PIM) “I’m really excited for this new experience. Everyone in this organization is so fired up for the season to start and I’m really happy and honored to be a part of it,” said Pelech. “I try my best to lead by example and bring a lot of positive energy into the dressing room.” The Toronto, Ontario native turned pro in 2009 and has skated for 12 different organizations, playing the majority of his career in Utah. Pelech ranks fifth in Grizzlies franchise history with 189 points and 72 goals. The 6-foot-3 forward has been named an alternate captain twice in his career, wearing a letter for Cincinnati in 2012-13 and also in Norfolk during the 2015-16 season. Howe, 24, has played two full ECHL seasons for the Grizzlies and ranked among the top eight in the ECHL in PIMS both seasons. The 6-foot-4, 215-pound skater has played 94 ECHL games, earning 14 points (7G, 7A) and 429 PIMS. The enforcer played for the Macon Mayhem in the 2015-16 season in the SPHL under Coach Kerr and was fifth in the league in PIMS. The Hull, Massachusetts native began his career in the FHL with the Berlin River Drivers before earning a call-up to the SPHL’s Mississippi River Kings. Before turning pro, he skated with the Corpus Christi Ice Rays and led the NAHL with 246 PIMS in 50 games, while tallying 10 points (3G, 7A). Herbert, 26, exits the Swamp Rabbits organization after leading the team in scoring last season. Through 38 games, the fourth-year pro earned 52 points (24G, 28A) and also spent considerable time in the AHL. Across games with the Hartford Wolf Pack, San Jose Barracuda, and Utica Comets, the forward played 23 games and earned seven points (2G, 5A). Herbert has notched 102 points (57G, 45A) in 108 career ECHL games but has also earned 27 points (12G, 15A) in 103 AHL contests. The additions of Pelech and Howe give Greenville 11 announced players on the 2018-19 season roster. The list also includes defensemen Jake Bolton, JC Brassard, Trevor Owens, and Sean Flanagan and forwards Alex Globke, Timmy Moore, Will Merchant, JT Henke and Johno May. As the offseason continues, stay tuned to SwampRabbits.com for a full updated list of players to sign for the upcoming season. Read the full article

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TOSTI: SWAMP RABBITS EXTEND QUALIFYING OFFERS TO SEVEN

Team offers set contracts to three forwards and four defensemen for upcoming season. BY: Brian Tosti, Greenville Swamp Rabbits Greenville, SC – The Greenville Swamp Rabbits have extended qualifying offers to seven players from the 2017-18 season. Qualifying offers are specific contracts sent to players, but do NOT mean that they have signed a contract for the upcoming season. Details and FAQ on qualifying offers can be found below. The following players have received offers from Swamp Rabbits head coach Kevin Kerr:  #  PLAYER  POS    STATUS (2018-19)  3  Sean Flanagan  D    Issued Qualifying Offer | 6/30  4  Chad Duchesne  D    Issued Qualifying Offer | 6/30  9  Allan McPherson  F    Issued Qualifying Offer | 6/30  10  Evan Jasper  F    Issued Qualifying Offer | 6/30  13  Joe Houk  D    Issued Qualifying Offer | 6/30  27  Matt Prapavessis  D    Issued Qualifying Offer | 6/30  29  Caleb Herbert  F    Issued Qualifying Offer | 6/30 Because these players are not categorized as veterans, the Swamp Rabbits would retain their ECHL playing rights for the entire 2018-19 season if a contract agreement is not met. As the offseason continues, stay tuned to SwampRabbits.com for a full updated list of players to sign for the upcoming season. Qualifying Offers FAQ Who Are Offers Extended To?: Players who had already signed a contract by June 30 did not need to receive a qualifying offer. Only players from a team’s season ending roster can be sent a qualifying offer. How Many Players Can Be Offered?: Each team was entitled to reserve the rights to a maximum of eight qualified players. Of those qualified players, no more than four could be veterans (260 regular season professional hockey games played as of the start of the upcoming 2018-19 season). What Does Issuing A Qualifying Offer Mean?: Players on open qualifying offers cannot be traded. The qualifying offer must remain open for acceptance until July 16 at which time the qualifying offer becomes null and void and the team may sign the qualified player to any salary or may elect to take no further action. Teams that extend a valid qualifying offer to a non-veteran player shall retain the rights to that qualified player for one playing season. Qualifying Offers To Veterans: A team that extends a valid qualifying offer to a veteran player will retain the rights to that veteran until July 16. After July 16, if the veteran player is not signed to a contract by the team, the veteran shall be deemed a restricted free agent and shall be entitled to seek and secure offers of employment from other ECHL teams. Restricted free agents may not be traded. When a restricted free agent receives a contract offer from a team other than the team with the player’s rights and the restricted free agent wishes to accept the contract offer, the restricted free agent and the offering member must, within 24 hours, notify the ECHL, the team with the player’s rights and the Professional Hockey Players’ Association. The member with the player’s rights shall have seven days after the date it is notified to exercise its right to match the contract offer. If a restricted free agent is not signed to either an offer sheet or a contract by an ECHL team by Aug. 1, the player shall be deemed an unrestricted free agent. Read the full article