VERSUS 
KALAMAZOO, MI – The Greenville Road Warriors had much to be thankful for on Thursday as they picked up a 7-4 win over the Kalamazoo Wings at Wings Stadium. The win improved Greenville’s record to 11-5-1 on the season and pulled them within a point of first place Gwinnett.
Greenville had made a habit early in the season of scoring first, but for the second straight night surrendered the first goal of the game. With the Wings working on their second power play, Brady Leisenring tipped a point shot by Matt Duffy. The redirection was wide of the goal but Trent Daavettila was lurking off of the far post to tuck it in. Greenville responded with a pair of rookie defensemen leading the charge. Trevor Glass tied the game for Greenville with his first pro goal at 15:49 of the first with Igor Gongalsky and Chris Chappell assisting. Blake Parlett gave the Road Warriors their first lead at 2-1 with a power play goal at 18:23. The lead wouldn’t last long, though, as Leisenring potted a rebound past Dov Grumet-Morris just 34 seconds after Parlett’s goal. That capped the first period scoring and left the team’s tied at two after 20 minutes of play.
The second period was like deja vu all over again as Kalamazoo scored first to grab a one goal lead only to be answered by a pair of Road Warriors goals. But Greenville couldn’t keep the lead intact and the Wings battled back to tie it before the buzzer. Justin Taylor’s first ECHL goal put Kalamazoo ahead 3-2 5:36 into the second. Greenville responded with goals from Connor Shields and Paul McIlveen to snag a 4-3 lead. Shields beat Kalamazoo goalie Riley Gill with a wrist shot from low on the right wing, and McIlveen stole a clearing pass from Duffy and quickly wristed it past Gill. Greenville looked like it would take the lead into the second intermission but a giveaway by Dov Grumet-Morris led to Tyler Doig’s first goal of the season with just over six seconds left in the period.
The Road Warriors seemed like they learned their lesson after nearly losing a three-goal lead the night before in Wheeling. They came out strong with three third-period goals to salt away their second straight road win. Marc-Olivier Vallerand scored the game winner with 5:27 gone by in the final frame. Vallerand stole a flip pass from Cory Syvret and scored his eighth goal of the season unassisted. Kalamazoo ratcheted up the pressure in a big way but Grumet-Morris posted 12 saves to make Vallerand’s goal stand up as the winner. With the Wings looking for an extra advantage they pulled Gill for an extra attacker on two different occasions inside of the final minute. But Vallerand and Connolly scored empty net goals to salt away the win.
Grumet-Morris earned his third consecutive win with 27 saves for the Road Warriors. Greenville went 1-for-4 on the power play and 2-for-3 on the penalty kill.
Mark your calendars! The Road Warriors are back on home ice to take on the Gwinnett Gladiators at 7:05 p.m. on Thursday, December 2. It will be another Dollar Drink Thursday with select fountain drinks and draught beers on sale for just $1! There are great group seats still available for your group of 10 or more. Call the Road Warriors at 864-674-PUCK for more information on how you can save on the box office price, receive preferred seating based on availability and much more.
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