TOSTI: SWAMP RABBITS WEEKLY: PRESEASON EDITION 

Swamp Rabbits Weekly: Preseason Edition

Greenville opens the eighth season at the Bon Secours Wellness Arena with pair of games against Wheeling Nailers on Friday and Saturday

BY: Brian Tosti, Greenville Swamp Rabbits

Gentlemen, Start Your Engines

The Greenville Swamp Rabbits proud ECHL affiliate of the New York Rangers and the AHL’s Hartford Wolf Pack, take the ice on Friday night against the Wheeling Nailers, opening the Swamp Rabbits eighth season in The Upstate. Greenville has won five of its seven home openers in franchise history.

Greenville owns a 15-7-2 overall record against the Nailers. Greenville tallied two wins in Wheeling last season. The Nailers have not returned to Greenville since May 9, 2014, when they fell 2-1 to Greenville during Game 5 of the 2014 Kelly Cup Playoffs Eastern Conference Semifinal Round.

Weekend Extravaganza

Tickets for Friday night’s 7 p.m. game are available for $10 online by clicking here or can be purchased at the Bon Secours Wellness Arena Box Office. The Bon Secours Family Fun Pack is also available for just $60 and includes four tickets, food, beverages and a souvenir! Starting at 5:30 p.m. the Opening Weekend festivities begin with a Fan Fest on the Furman Plaza featuring the Dew Street Hockey Zone, inflatables, concession specials, music, and fun with Chuck 99.5 and HOT 98.1.

The teams return to the ice on Saturday for a rematch. Another pregame Fan Fest kicks off at 5:30 p.m. before entering Underwear Toss Night. Bring newly packaged undergarments to the arena and toss them over the glass when the Swamp Rabbits score their first goal of the game. All donations will be collected by The Salvation Army of Greenville and donated directly to homeless men, women, and children in our local community.

The first 750 fans into the game each night will receive a Swamp Rabbits handclapper. For more information, head to SwampRabbits.com.

Something’s Special!

In partnership with Centerplate Catering, the Swamp Rabbits and Bon Secours Wellness Arena will roll out new concession specials this season. Every Tuesday and Thursday from 5-8 pm, it is ‘Hoppy Hour’ on the patio at the arena. Grab $2 food specials including mac & cheese bombs, meatball sliders, tacos and more! Fans can also enjoy $5 orders of chicken wings, and $3 domestic beers! Specials are also available on the concourse from 6-8 pm every Tuesday and Thursday featuring $3 soda, popcorn, pretzels, hot dogs, and domestic beer.

Saturday home games after Nov. 1 will be highlighted by Hoppy Hour on the patio all season long! Centerplate will be rolling out the Hoppy Hour specials for the first time during the Opening Weekend pregame Fan Fests.

The full list of Hoppy Hour specials include:
$2.00: Hot dog, Pretzel, Meatball Sliders, Loaded potato skins, Macaroni cheese bombs, Hard shell taco, and assorted 12 oz. sorter water/pop
$5.00: Chicken Wings (6 per order)
$3.00: 12 oz domestic beer

Rabbit Tails

• The Swamp Rabbits rolled through the preseason with a pair of 4-3 wins against the Atlanta Gladiators and South Carolina Stingrays.
• Nick Betz led the way in preseason play, netting two goals and adding an assist in the two games.
• Also tallying multiple-goal performances were Caleb Herbert and Dawson Leedahl who recorded the game-winning goals in both games.
• Greenville acquired goaltender Ty Rimmer from the Kansas City Mavericks for future considerations in addition to trimming the roster on Sunday afternoon.
• Defenseman Riley Sweeney was added to the Swamp Rabbits roster on Tuesday and veteran blueliner Joe Sova was released from his PTO.

OPENING WEEKEND: Greenville begins the season this Friday at the Bon Secours Wellness Arena against the Wheeling Nailers. Tickets are specially priced at just $10 for this game and can be purchased by clicking here. The puck drops for the Swamp Rabbits’ Opening Weekend at 7 p.m. Join the pregame Fan Fest at 5:30 p.m. for the Dew Street Hockey Zone, inflatables, concessions specials, music, and more! The Bon Secours Family Fun Pack is also available for this game and includes tickets, food, beverages and a souvenir for just $60! For more information, head to SwampRabbits.com.

CLEAR BAG POLICY: Beginning with the Swamp Rabbits home opener on October 13^th, the Bon Secours Wellness Arena will be implementing a clear bag policy for all events. Each ticketed guest will be permitted to carry one large clear bag, either a Ziploc style bag or a 12”x6”x12” clear bag, plus a small clutch purse (4.5”x6.5”). For more information on the policy, click here.

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