TOSTI: SWAMP RABBITS BACK IN ACTION AGAINST SOLAR BEARS TONIGHT  

TOSTI: Swamp Rabbits Back in Action Against Solar Bears Tonight 

Greenville faces off with Orlando for the fifth of nine meetings this season.

BY: Brian Tosti, Greenville Swamp Rabbits

RABBIT TAILS
The Greenville Swamp Rabbits (11-6-2-0), proud ECHL affiliate of the New York Rangers and AHL’s Hartford Wolf Pack, returned home to capture a win over the Florida Everblades last night in a shootout. Now, another team from the sunshine state makes the trip north to the Upstate as Greenville hosts the Orlando Solar Bears (6-9-3-0) tonight at 7:30 p.m. Greenville and Orlando have met four times this season, with the Swamp Rabbits winning three of the meetings. The Solar Bears battled back in their last showdown at the Bon Secours Wellness Arena to take their only win of the series. Since then, the fifth-place South Division team has rattled off a 3-1-1-0 record in its last five games.

START FOR THE AGES
Forward Caleb Herbert produced a league-leading 23 points in the month of November after scoring two goals and adding an assist last night. The center from Bloomington, Minnesota has the outright ECHL lead in scoring with 31 points (13G, 18A) in 19 games. It is the best start by a Greenville skater in franchise history and Herbert is the first skater to earn 30 points by Dec. 1 since the 2012-13 season. The last skaters to achieve 30 points by the start of December were Chad Costello (39), Jack Combs (34), and Michael Forney (30) while skating for the Colorado Eagles.
FEELING RIGHT AT HOME
Branden Troock tallied a goal and added two assists last night to raise his scoring total to 22 points this season (10G, 12A). The fourth-year winger from Edmonton, Alberta propelled himself to fourth in the ECHL’s scoring race behind teammates Caleb Herbert (31) and Allan McPherson (26). Troock has played nine games on the Sandlapper Securities rink and has recorded nine goals and added three assists. The 6-foot-3, 220-pound forward has tallied six goals during his current four-game goal scoring streak on home ice.

PLENTY OF SAVES TO GO AROUND
Goaltender Ty Rimmer made 47 saves last night to earn his seventh win of the season. The fifth-year netminder has made at least 40 saves in four games this season and ranks fifth among all ECHL goaltenders with 359 stops this year. The Edmonton, Alberta native had made at least 40 saves only three times in his career prior to the 2017-18 campaign. Rimmer has made nearly 4,000 saves in 149 games during his professional hockey career.

WELCOME BACK
The Swamp Rabbits and Solar Bears have become familiar with one another in the last four weeks. The South Division opponents will meet tonight for the fifth time in that stretch. Greenville has outscored the Solar Bears 21-13 in the meetings, but Orlando has produced eight goals on the power play on 26 chances (30.8%). Greenville is set for four more home games against Orlando this season and will make its only remaining trip to Orlando, Florida on Saturday, Mar. 31.

HEET-ING UP
Solar Bears goaltender Cal Heeter is the reigning CCM / ECHL Goaltender of the Week after winning three straight games last week with a 1.63 goals against average, and .945 save percentage. The sixth-year pro has earned four straight wins dating back to his relief appearance on Nov. 19 against the Swamp Rabbits. The St. Louis, Missouri native was pulled from the net on Tuesday night after allowing three goals on 10 shots against Jacksonville but did not suffer the loss in the game. Heeter has compiled a career 24-11-2-1 record in 43 career ECHL games.

CARROT BITES

• The Swamp Rabbits are 6-2-1-0 at the Bon Secours Wellness Arena this season.
• Orlando ranks fifth in the league, averaging over 36 shots per game this season.
• Greenville is 5-1-0-0 against teams from the state of Florida.
• The Swamp Rabbits were 9-7-0-0 in December last season. They will play 13 times this month.
• Caleb Herbert leads the ECHL with a +17 rating and was +12 in the month of November.

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