SAVANNAH (Florida Sports Wire) Ryan Francis’ overtime winner lifted the Greenville Swamp Rabbits to their franchise-record eighth consecutive road victory, as they topped the Savannah Ghost Pirates 2-1 in overtime on Saturday night at Enmarket Arena.
The fifth meeting between the Swamp Rabbits and the Ghost Pirates began with fast-paced action that saw just two stoppages before Savannah’s Vincent Marleau broke the deadlock with his 12th of the season at 8:19.
Early in the second, Savannah’s Carter Long was sent to the penalty box for hooking at 2:21, and the Swamp Rabbits capitalized just 24 seconds into their power-play, as Josh McKechney buried a one-timer into the net for his second of the season at 2:45 to tie the game.
Despite a combined 14 shots in the third period, neither team found the goal that would grant two points at the end of regulation.
In overtime, Greenville pulled goaltender Jacob Ingham while holding a delayed penalty, and saw Ryan Francis net the game-winning goal, his second in as many games, into the net just 1:02 into the sudden-death.
With the win, the Swamp Rabbits improve to an Eastern Conference-best 17-3-0-0 and extend their franchise-record road winning streak to eight consecutive games. Savannah’s loss drops the team to 7-11-3-1.
