In their first meeting of the season the Road Warriors and Nailers got off to a bit of a sluggish start in the first period, at least in terms of offense. Fifty one seconds into the game Sean Berkstresser brought Greenville’s fans to their feet when he fought the Nailers’ Andrew Lord. Those fireworks were the only fireworks that the first period produced. Greenville managed six shots and Wheeling picked up eight but Dov Grumet-Morris for Greenville and Patrick Killeen for Wheeling turned aside every shot they faced. The game was deadlocked at zero after 20 minutes of play.
The second period, though, belonged to Greenville and its three-goal outburst. After missing on three power play opportunities in the first, the Road Warriors cashed in a power play goal from Shane Harper at the 5:56 mark. Brendan Connolly dragged the puck around a defender and hit Harper with a cross-ice pass that left Killeen out of position and the net wide open. Jimmy Kilpatrick notched his first assist as a Road Warrior on Harper’s third goal of the season. Marc-Olivier Vallerand extended the lead to 2-0 just 31 seconds later. He beat Killeen to the glove side with a quick wrist shot for his fourth goal of the season with assists going to T.J. Reynolds and Connor Shields. Ben Street tipped a point shot past Grumet-Morris at the 13-minute mark to put Wheeling on the board but Connolly’s team-leading ninth goal of the season restored Greenville’s two goal lead at 17:17. Assists on Connolly’s goal went to Harper and Wes Cunningham.
In the third frame both team’s offenses came to life and notched a goal. Greenville managed 14 shots in the frame while Wheeling registered nine. Mark Voakes gave Greenville a three-goal lead for a time when he slammed home a power play goal at 5:54. Paul McIlveen took a pass from Justin Bowers at the center point and ripped a slap shot wide of the goal. Voakes was there for the carom and dunked it behind Killeen for his fifth goal. Kris Vernarsky gave Wheeling some life at 11:19 as he finished off a two-on-one with Hunter Bishop. But Grumet-Morris and the Road Warriors defense slammed the door from there and Greenville earned the victory.
Grumet-Morris stopped 31 shots in earning his second win of the season. Greenville was 2-for-8 on the power play and 3-for-3 on the penalty kill.
Please click here for tonight’s box score.
Mark your calendars! The Road Warriors are back on home ice to take on the Wheeling Nailers at 7:05 p.m. on November 19. The Road Warriros will be offering Friday Family Four-Packs which feature four gold-level tickets, four hot dogs, four drinks, four bags of chips and four pretzels for $48. The Road Warriors will also continue their Thanks for Giving Weekend with a blanket drive to benefit Miracle Hill Ministries. Fans who bring a new, or gently used blanket, will receive a buy-one-get-one ticket coupon to the December 15 home game. Group seats also are available and with a group of 10 or more you can save on the box office price, receive preferred seating based on availability and much more. Contact a Road Warriors group sales representative by calling 864-674-PUCK.
