BOISE, Idaho – Keaton Mastrodonato pocketed his second goal of the game 95 seconds into overtime, spearheading four multi-point efforts to an eventual win for the Greenville Swamp Rabbits, 5-4 over the Idaho Steelheads on Friday night in game two of their three-game set. The win forces a rubber match for the series and road trip finale tomorrow night, and extends the team’s point streak to six games (5-0-0-1).
The game was a consistent tug-of-war, with Idaho leading after 20 minutes. Just 2:29 into the game, Ty Pelton-Byce redirected a blue line shot that bounced off the backboard, off of Swamp Rabbits net-minder Isaiah Saville, and in, giving the Steelheads an early 1-0 lead. However, exactly 3:30 later, Parker Berge, a former Steelhead, trailed on the play and buried a Wade Murphy pass with a wrist shot over the shoulder of Ben Kraws in net for Idaho to square the game at 1-1 at 5:59. With 5:05 remaining in the period, Saville was run on a net-front drive and removed from the game with injury. Mattias Sholl came in net for the Swamp Rabbits for the remainder of the game. Idaho hit paydirt moments later on a passing sequence started on a blue line containment. With 2:25 to go, Mason Nevers buried a backdoor pass from Nick Canade, pushing the Steelheads up 2-1 heading into the intermission.
Not even two minutes into the second, another former Steelhead joined the party in the form of Wade Murphy. At 1:50, Ryan O’Reilly won a faceoff to Murphy, who faked a drop to the blue line a rifled a wrister past Kraws to level the game at 2-2. Idaho countered 2:04 later when Chris Dodero potted a rebound off of his brother’s shot, bouncing off the back glass to the slot to put the Steelheads back in the driver’s seat at 3-2 at 3:54. Not to be outdone, Dante Sheriff, skating in his 200th ECHL game, answered 45 seconds later burying a Josh Atkinson pass in the slot under the bar past Kraws, once again squaring the game at 3-3 at 4:39 (Atkinson extended his assist streak to six games on the play). More adversity befell the Swamp Rabbits, as 25 seconds later, Parker Berge was ejected and assessed “five and a game” for boarding, putting the Swamp Rabbits on a major penalty kill for five minutes. They got out unscathed and entered the third tied at three.
On the power play themselves to start the third, the Swamp Rabbits found their first lead of the game. Just 23 seconds into the frame, Keaton Mastrodonato, another former Steelhead, finished a backdoor slam dunk on a Josh Atkinson blue line pass, vaulting the Swamp Rabbits to a 4-3 advantage. Yet again in a quick sequence 100 seconds later, Liam Malmquist slipped the puck through Sholl’s legs on an Aidan Hreschuk pass, tying the game at 4-4 with 2:03 gone by in the third. No one could find a winner in the remainder of the third, once again prompting overtime.
The Swamp Rabbits came out with both points this time, with Keaton Mastrodonato ending it early with his second of the game. At 1:35 of overtime, Josh Atkison took advantage of a Steelheads broken stick, slinging it to Hudson Schandor in the slot. Schandor dropped it behind his back to Mastrodonato, who fired home the winner, giving the Swamp Rabbits a 5-4 win.
Isaiah Saville stopped all but one of 11 shots in his start, going 14:55 before he was removed from the game due to injury (no decision). Mattias Sholl won his first game as a pro past 60 minutes, stopping 29 of 32 shots in 46:40 of relief (8-7-2-0).
The Swamp Rabbits close out their road trip and three-game set with the Steelheads tomorrow night in a rubber match. Puck drop for the finale is set for 9:10 p.m. EST at Idaho Central Arena.