The Greenville Road Warriors capped off a perfect weekend with a 5-2 win over the South Carolina Stingrays on Saturday Night. The win improved Greenville’s record to 3-1-1 on the season.
The Road Warriors‘ power play popped in a couple of first period goals to take a 2-0 lead. Julien Brouillette potted his fourth goal of the season after a scramble for a puck at the South Carolina net. Jared DiMichiel made the initial save on a Mark Voakes shot but couldn’t control the rebound and Brouillette was there to cash in. It appeared that Brouillette notched his second of the game at 12:22 of the first but the shot was tipped in by Andrew Carroll for his fifth goal of the season. Brouillette earned the primary assist while the secondary went to Justin Bowers. Josh Godfrey helped the Stingrays cut into Greenville’s lead with a power play goal of his own with 1:08 remaining in the first. Road Warriors goalie Nic Riopel could not see the shot through a screen in front.
Greenville was quick to respond in the second period with yet another power play goal. Justin Bowers picked up his first of the season by whipping in a rebound from an Andrew Carroll shot. The 3-1 lead lasted until 11:38 when Godfrey’s second of the game pulled the Stingrays back within one. Greenville didn’t flinch with South Carolina applying the pressure to tie the game. Marc-Olivier Vallerand stole the puck from Bryan Schmidt while the Rays were on the power play. Vallerand was slashed as he tried to work the breakaway and earned a penalty shot. DiMichiel made the stick save on the attempt and kept South Carolina within one. The margin grew quickly though when Greenville scored a pair of goals 27 seconds apart. Carroll cashed in his second of the game, and sixth of the season at 17:35 with assists from Bowers and Wes Cunningham and then was followed by Connor Shields at 18:02. Shane Harper assisted on Shields’ goal for his first pro point.
Neither team could convert a goal in the third period despite two power plays for South Carolina and three for the Road Warriors. Greenville out-scored South Carolina 9-3 in sweeping the two games this weekend.
Riopel made 28 saves in earning his third win of the season. Greenville went 3-for-10 on the power play and 4-for-5 on the penalty kill.
Mark your calendars! The Road Warriors are back on home ice to take on the Gwinnett Gladiators on November 5 at 7:05 p.m. The Road Warriors will be offering their Friday Family Four-Pack which features four tickets, hot dogs, sodas, pretzels, and bags of chips for $48. It will also be House Divided Night where college students can buy special $6 tickets at the Box Office with a valid student ID. Clemson and the University of South Carolina will play a regular season game following the Road Warriors and Gladiators. Call the Road Warriors at 864-674-PUCK or visit www.greenvilleroadwarriors.com for ticket information.
