(GREENVILLE, S.C.) – The Greenville Swamp Rabbits saw their win streak stop at three straight games as the Florida Everblades, led by Carson Gicewicz’s hat trick, three shorthanded goals, and a 23-save shutout from Cam Johnson, took an 8-0 win on Saturday afternoon.
Florida took a 6-0 lead into the dressing room after 20 minutes of play, capitalizing on quick scoring sequences to pull away early. The first three goals came in a 2:10 span, starting with Carson Gicewicz scoring twice in 1:27, potting an awkward bounce off the back wall of the Swamp Rabbits end boards and cashing in on a crossbar rebound on the only Florida power play to double the lead to 2-0 fast. After Gary Haden made it 3-0 at 9:28, Swamp Rabbits Head Coach Kyle Mountain called a timeout, and the team pushed back. Florida, however, broke through the energy and cashed in three more times, including a pair of shorthanded goals 23 seconds apart from Oliver Chau and Kyle Betts, to carry a 6-0 at the end of the first period. Dryden McKay was substituted out after 18:14 of the first, stopping eight of 13 shots. Kolby Hay came in relief for the rest of the game in what was his professional debut.
Oliver Chau added a second shorthanded tally in the second and was followed by Gicewicz to complete his hat trick 2:08 apart to balloon the score to 8-0. Cam Johnson hung on for the Everblades in preserving his shutout, stopping six, 10, and seven shots, respectively, to snag a 23-save shutout…