KALAMAZOO, MI –After winning their first two game of their northern road trip, the Greenville Road Warriors will look to make it three straight when they take on the Kalamazoo Wings tonight. Game time is set for 7:30 at Wings Stadium.
RECAPPING THE ACTION:
11/25 – GRW 7 – KAL 4
Greenville needed its best offensive output of the season to take down the pesky Wings on Thanksgiving last night. Playing their first game in six days the Wings came out with jump in the first period and tallied the first goal of the night from Trent Daavettila 10:17 into the first period. Greenville bounced back with a pair of goals from rookie defensemen to take a 2-1 lead. Trevor Glass scored his first as a pro at 15:49 and then Blake Parlett cashed in a power play goal at 18:23. Just 34 seconds later Kalamazoo tied it with a score from Brady Leisenring. The second period followed the exact same script as the first. Justin Taylor restored Kalamazoo’s lead at 3-2 5:36 into the second before Connor Shields (6:22) and Paul McIlveen (9:28) beat Riley Gill to give Greenville a 4-3 lead. A giveaway by Dov Grumet-Morris allowed Kalamazoo to tie the game with seven seconds remaining in the frame. Tyler Doig converted a cross-ice pass from Brian McGuirk to even the score at 4-4. Grumet-Morris made up for his gaffe in the third period by blanking the Wings with 13 saves and allowing the Road Warriors take hold of the lead for good. Marc-Olivier Vallerand scored the game winner off of a turnover at 5:27 and then added an empty net goal with 59 seconds left. Brendan Connolly chipped in a second empty net goal with 13 seconds left to set the final.
WHAT’S ON TAP FOR TONIGHT:
Tonight’s game is the 18th of the season for the Road Warriors and marks the quarter pole of the campaign. With last night’s win Greenville became the first team in the league to reach 11 wins on the season. A win by the Road Warriors tonight would ensure them of no worse than the second best winning percentage in the league over the first 18 games. Only Alaska, with nine wins through 15 games has a mathematical chance to match Greenville’s win percentage. A win tonight would put the Road Warriors on pace for 48 wins this season.
Looking at league leader lists will show you a lot of Road Warriors at, or near the top of, many lists. Primarily Marc-Olivier Vallerand is tops among rookies in points (18), goals (9), and game-winning goals (2). Vallerand and Brandon Wong are tied for the best plus/minus rating among rookies at +8, while Brendan Connolly leads the league at +12. Julien Brouillette leads league defensemen with 7 goals and is second with 14 points..
Greenville has had to show its resilient side on this northern road trip with a pair of comeback wins. In each of the last two games the Road Warriors have surrendered the first goal but came back to win. For the season the Road Warriors are 4-2-0 when their opponent scores first and have won twice when trailing after one period.
Mark your calendars! The Road Warriors will be back on home ice to take on the Gwinnett Gladiators at 7:05 p.m. on Thursday, December 2 at the BI-LO Center. It will be another Dollar Drink Thursday with select fountain drinks and draught beers on sale for just $1! There are great group seats available and your group of 10 or more can save on the box office price, receive preferred seating based on availability, and much more by booking in advance. To contact a Road Warriors group sales representative call 864-674-PUCK.
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