The Greenville Road Warriors completed a three-game sweep over the Florida Everblades on Saturday night with a 3-0 victory. The win was the Road Warriors sixth straight on home ice and improved their record to 7-3-1 on the season.
Greenville was out-shot 16-5 in the opening period thanks, in part, to three consecutive power plays for the Everblades. Nic Riopel turned aside each shot he faced and helped Greenville snag a 1-0 lead after the first frame. Brendan Connolly picked up his third goal of the weekend, and sixth of the season, when he slammed home a shorthanded tally at 9:37 of the first. Paul McIlveen earned the assist with a quick pass off the left wing wall.
In the second it was Connolly again with a marker that doubled up Greenville’s lead. He took a centering feed from Shane Harper at the front of the net and jammed a quick shot past Jaroslav Janus 49 seconds into the frame. Brandon Wong garnered the secondary helper giving him three points on the weekend with a goal and two assists. An issue with the ice brought the Zamboni back out immediately after Connolly’s goal and delayed the game by a few minutes. When play resumed Greenville went right back to work on the offensive and Mark Voakes slipped his fourth goal of the season in at the 3:35 mark. Marc-Olivier Vallerand made the feed off the right wing boards to the front of the net and Cullen Eddy had the secondary helper with a crisp pass through center. Riopel was much less busy in the second as he only faced three shots and denied each one.
In the third the Road Warriors saw Florida surge in an effort to draw closer and the Everblades sailed 13 shots Riopel’s way. None were high-quality chances, though, and Greenville’s rookie goalie stood tall in his crease. The pressure rose a bit when Sean Berkstresser was taken off for slashing eight minutes into the period, but Greenville was able to survive the power play. Florida then went very aggressive and pulled Janus with 1:49 left in the game to try to spark the offense. The spark never materialized, however, and Greenville had its first ever shutout.
Riopel made 32 saves and was awarded first star of the game honors for his efforts. Greenville was 0-for-4 on the power play and 5-for-5 on the penalty kill tonight.
Mark your calendars! The Road Warriors are back on home ice on November 18 to take on the Wheeling Nailers at 7:05 p.m. at the BI-LO Center. It will be the third Dollar Draught Night of the season with select fountain drinks and draught beers being sold for just $1. The Road Warriors will also be kicking off their Thanks for Giving weekend. Any fan who donates a winter coat to the Road Warriors coat drive to benefit the Salvation Army will receive a buy-one-get-one free coupon good for the December 14 home game. For more information contact the Road Warriors at 864-674-PUCK.
