Allan McPherson’s 2-Assists Aid Greenville in 3-2 Victory
A night after putting up four assists against the Wichita Thunder, Alan McPherson was back at it again, adding two more assists in leading the Greenville Swamp Rabbits to a 3-2 victory over the Thunder. The early matinee saw the home team fall behind twice only to tie the score and then win on a goal by Troy Donnay to give Greenville a sweep of the two-game series and giving the team seven wins in their last 10-games.
The Thunder got off to a great start when Ryan Tesink gave his team the lead 7:12 into the contest. Gabriel Gagne’s shot was saved by Jeff Malcolm, but Tesink was charging hard for the net and put the rebound in for his fourth goal of the season.
That would be all the scoring in the first as this was a game that was dominated by the goalies for much of the first two periods. After two frames Wichita had 26 shots on net and Greenville 22. Drew Owsley saved all but one of those 22-shots, as the Swamp Rabbits tied the score at 4:49 of the second.
Ahti Oksanen took the puck and made a great move across the slot area. He then fired a shot that beat Owsley for his 19th goal of the year to tie the score at one.
Into the third the game would go where Wichita would take the lead again. At the 2:26 mark, Blake Tatchell gained control of the puck at the right faceoff circle. He then fired a wrist shot that got by Malcolm for his 10th goal of the year.
Down by a goal, Greenville would tie the score a little over two and a half minutes later. Joe Houk fired a quick shot that got by Owsley for his 15th goal of the year and third goal in two games.
At the 9:01 mark the Swamp Rabbits took their first lead of the game. A shot by Troy Donnay somehow found a way through a large crowd and into the net for his second goal of the season.
The Thunder would try feverishly to get the equalizer but it would come to no avail. The Greenville Swamp Rabbits would earn the 3-2 victory, sweeping the two-game set between the two teams.
Jeff Malcolm saved 35 of 37 shots he faced for Greenville. Allan McPherson had 2-assists. The Thunder offense was led by Jamie Doornbosch who had 2-assists. That gave him five-points since returning to the team yesterday.
The Wichita Thunder get a much needed break as they will be off until next Tuesday when they travel to Missouri to take on the Mavericks. The puck drops at 7:05.
By Robert Pannier
