After years of hungering for a pro sports team it could call its own, the city of Savannah, Ga., was rewarded this past Saturday night.
Fans welcomed home the brand new, and first-place (by points percentage), Savannah Ghost Pirates of the ECHL for their home-opener after beginning their inaugural season with a 4-1-0 road record. A raucous sellout crowd of 6,876 at sparkling Enmarket Arena watched their players post a comprehensive 5-1 victory over the Greenville Swamp Rabbits.
Rookie ECHL coach Rick Bennett’s team got off to a tentative start during the opening six minutes in front of the home folks, which could be attributed to nerves and a physical start by the visitors. But once the Ghost Pirates – an affiliate of the NHL’s Vegas Golden Knights and AHL Henderson Silver Knights – found their “skating legs,” they dominated Greenville, an L.A. Kings affiliate.
Using an up-tempo forecheck which took away time and space from Swamp Rabbits defensemen and resulted in plenty of offensive zone time, the Ghost Pirates began to tilt the ice in their favor. Fresh in the winners’ minds was a 3-2 road defeat in Greenville the night before, their first loss of the 2022-23 season.
“I think everything tonight starts with the crowd. They were great,” Bennett said after Saturday’s game. “We needed a response game. Our forecheck was good – that’s a work ethic thing. But I thought our backcheck was the key. We talked about not giving them anything, and we did a good job.”
Although the first period was scoreless, one sensed it was only a matter of time after Savannah outshot the visitors 16-8. When forward Spencer Naas tallied the first-ever home goal in team history at 3:41 of the second period, an unassisted snapshot in close after a giveaway, the Pirates’ ship was indeed launched.
It took a scant 72 seconds before defenseman Brandon Estes finished off a sweet feed from forward Brent Pedersen to complete a 2-on-1. Just 3:47 later, Pat Guay, the team’s leading scorer entering the contest (4-4-8), hammered home his fifth goal to make it 3-0 on a 3-on-1 break.
Estes potted an unassisted shorthanded, empty net goal at 14:41 of the final period after Greenville had pulled goaltender David Hrenak in an attempt to capitalize on a 6-on-4 advantage. Forward Daniel D’Amato upped the count to 5-0 with his first goal of the season before Swamp Rabbits right winger Ayden MacDonald spoiled Ghost Pirates netminder Isaiah Saville’s shutout bid with 2:41 left. Saville recorded 32 saves in his season debut while Savannah outshot Greenville 41-33.
For the infant Ghost Pirates, the victory was yet another testament to the team’s early-season bonding. Their start is impressive considering the players had never met each other until training camp. Estes (5-foot-11, 175 pounds) had played under Bennett for four years at Union College in the NCAA.
“I’m confident playing for Rick Bennett, and that’s why I play well for him,” Estes said.
The Ghost Pirates are members of the ECHL’s competitive South Division, which includes the Florida Everblades, the 2022 Kelly Cup champions. Bennett and his players are happy with their start, and their fans are thrilled to have “pirated” a victory on opening night.
Gary McCullough/Savannah Ghost Pirates
Here are five observations from opening night in Savannah:
1. A boffo video, light and sound show extravaganza befitting the occasion left no doubt the Ghost Pirates are an affiliate of the Vegas Golden Knights. Spotlight introductions of each member of the team and a ceremonial opening faceoff amidst an electric atmosphere generated thoughts of Savannah’s NHL big brother, whose opening game festivities remain second to none. Savannah’s blaring pregame goal horn was followed by the announcement: “Ghost Pirates fans, we are about to get this ship sailing,” as the Ghost Pirates flag was hoisted.
2. The Ghost Pirates’ early-season bonding and 5-1-0 record must be pedigree-related. When the first-year expansion Golden Knights achieved major professional sports history by reaching the 2018 Stanley Cup final, they had morphed into a bunch of “lovable misfits,” or castoffs from other NHL franchises. Savannah’s excellent start has conjured understandable parallels.
3. If there is an ECHL award for most merchandise sold during a season, the Ghost Pirates looked to be a contender. From the moment the arena doors opened two hours before game time, the team’s fan store was swamped by an endless line of fans. The merch line continued unabated throughout the game and lasted another 45 minutes or so afterwards.
4. Lime green and black “The Haunt Begins” T-shirts draped over every seat added to the anticipation with flashing bright green light sticks given to every fan entering the building.
5. The ECHL’s customary blue-colored goal posts and crossbar were a fine complement to the blue paint of the goal crease. While initially noticeable compared to the traditional solid red, the sound of vulcanized rubber clanging off the post during the game sounded just the same as always.
