BY: Cristiano Simonetta, Catherine Morrison
Michael Bullion recorded his fourth shutout of the year as the Savannah Ghost Pirates (30-33-7-1) blanked the Greenville Swamp Rabbits (43-24-4-1) 3-0 in the final home game of the season at Enmarket Arena.
Neither team scored in the first period as Greenville outshot Savannah 13-7.
The Ghost Pirates broke the stalemate 2:06 into the second period when Kyle Jeffers charged in on a 2-on-1 rush and fired a wrist shot over the left hand of Jacob Ingham for his sixth goal of the year. Brent Pedersen and Noah Carroll picked up the assists on Jeffers’ icebreaker.
Ingham and Bullion made fantastic saves for their club throughout the ensuing 36 minutes as Greenville failed to tie the game while Savannah was kept at bay with a one-goal lead.
With just under two minutes left in regulation, the Swamp Rabbits pulled Ingham and Savannah took advantage.
At 18:08, Nolan Valleau launched a shot from Savannah’s goal line and found the empty net to secure the insurance goal. After Ingham was pulled again for the sixth skater, Brandon Estes hit the target at 18:41, recording another empty-net goal.
Michael Bullion picked up his fourth shutout of the season with 28 saves; Bullion is tied with Florida’s Cam Johnson and Wheeling’s Taylor Gauthier for the most shutouts in the ECHL this year.
The Ghost Pirates went 0-for-3 on the power play and 1-for-1 on the penalty kill.
Savannah’s final home game was in front of a sell-out crowd. The Ghost Pirates' average attendance of 6,695 was the fifth-highest in the league.
Savannah will play their last game of the 2023-24 regular season on Sunday, April 14, at 3:05 p.m. at Bon Secours Wellness Arena in Greenville. Coverage can be found on Mixlr and FloSports.
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