Pipeline: Swamp Rabbits Set to Face Stingrays for Spot in Kelly Cup Final

Florida's ECHL affiliate is only three wins away from punching a ticket to the Kelly Cup Finals.
With the action confined to the Palmetto State, the Greenville Swamp Rabbits will battle the rival South Carolina Stingrays for the Eastern Conference crown in a best-of-five series that is scheduled to begin on Wednesday at the North Charleston Coliseum & Performing Arts Center.

In the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time since 2014, the Swamp Rabbits, who are in the first season of a multi-year affiliation agreement with the Panthers, took down the Indy Fuel in four games in the first round of the playoffs, wrapping up the series with a 3-2 win on June 12.
Up front, Graham Knott currently leads Greenville in scoring during the playoffs with four points (two goals, four assists), while fellow forwards Greg Meireles, Shawn Cameron, Joey Haddad and Liam Pecararo are locked into a multi-player tie for second place with three points apiece.
In Game 4 against the Fuel, Meireles, a sixth-round pick (168th overall) of the Panthers in the 2019 NHL Draft, scored what would go on to hold up as the game-winning goal when he buried his own rebound on the power play to extend Greenville's lead to 3-1 at 6:14 of the third period.
On the blue line, Ben Finkelstein, who was scooped up by the Panthers in the seventh round (195th overall) in the 2016 NHL Draft, leads all Swamp Rabbits defensemen in shots (10) and assists (2), including earning the primary helper on Meireles' aforementioned goal in Game 4.

Riding high after an outstanding regular season, Ryan Bednard, a seventh-round pick (206th overall) of the Panthers in the 2015 NHL Draft, has started three of four games in the playoffs thus far for Greenville, registering a 2-1-0 record with a .959 save percentage and one shutout.
As for the Stingrays, their opening-round series with the Florida Everblades went the distance.
Despite letting a 2-0 series lead slip through their fingers, the Stingrays, who are making their seventh all-time appearance in the Conference Finals, still managed to defeat the Everblades 3-2 in overtime on a goal from Dan DeSalvo just 3:25 into the extra frame in Game 5 on Monday.
With five points each, DeSalvo (one goal, four assists) and Cole Ully (three goals, two assists) are tied for the playoff scoring lead on South Carolina, while Hunter Shepard has gone 3-2-0 with a 3.39 goals-against average and .881 save percentage in five games between the pipes.
The winner of the Eastern Conference Finals will receive both the E.A. "Bud" Gingher Memorial Trophy and advance to play either the Allen Americans or Fort Wayne Komets for the Kelly Cup.
For updates, make sure to follow @SwampRabbits on Twitter.

REGULAR-SEASON SERIES

The Swamp Rabbits went 9-3-3 in the regular-season series against the Stingrays.
That being said, eight of their 15 games were decided in either overtime or a shootout.
With an overall record of 38-19-12-3, Greenville entered the postseason as the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference. Edging out the Orlando Solar Bears by just two points in the standings, South Carolina claimed the fourth and final seed in the conference with a record of 34-23-10-3.
Making moves down the home stretch, both teams caught fire toward the end of the ECHL's regular season, with the Swamp Rabbits posting a 16-6-1 record over their final 23 games, while the Stingrays went 17-7-1 over their last 25 games.

PLAYOFF SERIES SCHEDULE

Game 1:Wednesday, June 16 at 7:05 p.m. ET at South Carolina
Game 2: Friday, June 18 at 7:05 p.m. ET at Greenville
Game 3: Saturday, June 19 at 7:05 p.m. ET at Greenville
Game 4:Monday, June 21 at 7:05 p.m. ET at South Carolina (if necessary)
Game 5:Wednesday, June 23 at 7:05 p.m. ET at South Carolina (if necessary)

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*Photo Credit: Greenville Swamp Rabbits