GREENVILLE, SC – The Greenville Road Warriors piled up another three wins last week to ascend to the top of the South Division, and ECHL standings. This week will see the team finish off a three week stretch of play that featured nine out of 10 games on the road. Germain Arena, home of the Florida Everblades, is the destination this week.
Record: 16-5-1, 33 pts., 1st place South Division
Leaders:
Goals – Brendan Connolly: 13
Assists – Justin Bowers: 16
Points – Brendan Connolly: 27
+/- – Brendan Connolly: +16
PIMs – T.J. Reynolds: 75
PPG – Julien Brouillette: 5
SHG – Brendan Connolly/Marc-Olivier Vallerand: 2
Wins – Dov Grumet-Morris: 8
GAA – Dov Grumet-Morris: 2.10
SVP – Dov Grumet-Morris: .932
This Week:
12/8, 12/10, and 12/11 at Florida, 7:30 p.m. (12/8 & 12/10) and 7:00 p.m. (12/11) – Home (4-0-1), Away (0-0-0)
This week’s three-game set in Estero will be a meeting of the two hottest teams in the ECHL. The Everblades, who are chasing the Road Warriors for the top spot in the South Division, have won six straight games and have the second most wins in the league at 15. Greenville, meanwhile, has a seven game winning streak to their credit and enter the week with a league-leading 16 victories. The three games could feature plenty of offensive fireworks as well. Florida’s lineup includes the top two point scorers in the league in Mitch Fadden (36 Pts., 9G, 27A) and Francis Lemieux (30 Pts., 9G, 20A) while the Road Warriors boast the league’s top goal scorer in Brendan Connolly (13G, 27 Pts.) and five players overall averaging at least one point per game. Greenville has been firmly in control of the season series between the clubs with four wins and one overtime loss so far. All five previous games have been at the BI-LO Center, though, and the Everblades are solid in their arena. Florida boasts a 7-3-0 record at Germain Arena and the seven home wins are the second most in the ECHL.
Sun. 12/12: Off
Broadcast Schedule:
Wed. 12/8: Road Warriors at Florida, 7:30 p.m.
Fri. 12/10: Road Warriors at Florida, 7:30 p.m.
Sat. 12/11: Road Warriors at Florida, 7:00 p.m.
All Road Warriors radio broadcasts can be heard online for free courtesy of America One. Point your browser to www.greenvilleroadwarriors.com and click “Listen Live” to join Ray Schmitt on the broadcasts. Road Warriors fans can also watch Internet TV broadcasts of the games by clicking here. All broadcasts begin 15 minutes prior to face off with the Road Warriors Pregame Show. Fans can also email Radio Ray and have their questions read during the broadcast! Send your questions to grwradioray@gmail.com.
Last Week:
12/2 vs. Gwinnett: W 7-1
In a brief return to the BI-LO Center after a four-game road trip the Road Warriors made a grand statement against the Gladiators. In a game that put control of the South Division, and the top spot in the ECHL, up for grabs Greenville was in charge from the onset. Julien Brouillette scored a power play goal just past the midway point of the first period to stake the Road Warriors to the lead and a four-goal onslaught in the second provided the cushion. Mark Voakes, Marc-Olivier Vallerand (PPG), Blake Parlett (PPG), and Brandon Wong all registered goals in the period and Dov Grumet-Morris made three saves to allow Greenville to grab a 5-0 lead. Gwinnett tallied its lone goal early in the third with Sam Roberts picking up the power play score, but Greenville bounced right back. Brendan Connolly and Vallerand (SHG) rounded out Greenville’s offense with scores 1:04 apart near the midpoint of the third. The win was Greenville’s biggest offensive output of the season and featured a 3-for-6 effort on the power play.
12/4 at South Carolina: W 2-0
After nearly posting back-to-back shutouts by allowing one goal to Gwinnett on Thursday, Dov Grumet-Morris came through with 26 stops for his second shutout of the season. He was also the first Road Warriors goalie to face a penalty shot and came through with a glove save on the Stingrays’ Dylan Yeo at 2:34 of the second period. Minutes later Justin Bowers scored on a breakaway for the Road Warriors which proved to be the game winning goal. In the third period Paul McIlveen provided insurance with a power play goal on assists from Jimmy Kilpatrick and Julien Brouillette. Kilpatrick also assisted on Bowers’ goal in the second giving him back-to-back games with multiple assists. The third-year winger had two helpers on Thursday against the Gladiators.
12/5 at Gwinnett: W 5-1
Greenville was looking for a measure of revenge after dropping back-to-back games at the Arena at Gwinnett Center on November 6 and 7. The Road Warriors got exactly what they were looking for with their second straight win over the Gladiators. One night after having his 12-game point streak snapped Brendan Connolly opened the scoring for the Road Warriors at 9:38 with a breakaway goal on Chris Carrozzi. Despite just four shots in the first Greenville had the 1-0 lead after one then added three more in the second. All three goals came via the power play with Mark Voakes, Blake Parlett, and Brandon Wong cashing in. Grumet-Morris was making a bid for his second shutout in a row, but Tim Miller broke it up by deflecting in a power play goal at 16:26 of the second. In the third, Gwinnett ratcheted up the attack and sent 14 shots Grumet-Morris’ way, but he took on all comers and held Gwinnett to the lone score. Voakes potted his second of the game, 10th of the season, at 13:21 to ensure Greenville’s lead remained comfortable.
ONE-TIMERS:
Scoring Streaks:
Goals:
· A. Carroll, 4 games (6G); 10/22-10/30
Assists:
· J. Kilpatrick, 4 games (8A); 11/28-12/5
Points:
· A. Carroll, 4 games (6G, 2A); 10/22-10/30
· P. McIlveen, 2 games (1G, 1A); 12/4-12/5
· J. Bowers, 3 games (1G, 3A); 12/2-12/5
· J. Kilpatrick, 6 games (2G, 8A); 11/26-12/5
Quick Hits:
· Jimmy Kilpatrick was nominated for ECHL Player of the Week after racking up seven assists in three games last week. The third-year forward has 12 assists on the season and is averaging over a point per game with 16 (4G, 12A) through 14 games.
· Dov Grumet-Morris was nominated for ECHL Goalie of the Week after going 3-0-0 this week with a 0.67 goals-against average, a .976 save percentage. Grumet-Morris leads the Road Warriors in wins (8), goals-against average (2.10) and save percentage (.932).
· The Road Warriors’ seven-game winning streak is the longest in the ECHL this season. Florida is right behind in second with its six-game winning streak.
· Paul McIlveen has at least one point in six consecutive road games (2G, 4A). Six of McIlveen’s 10 points have come away from the BI-LO Center.
· The Road Warriors are first in the league in goals for per game (4.00) and have the fifth-lowest team goals-against average in the league at 2.50.
Mark your calendars! Don’t forget about these upcoming promotions:
– 12/14 vs. Gwinnett, 7:05: Twofer Tuesday. For the first time this season the Road Warriors will offer their Twofer Tuesday special. What you get with the special are two center-ice tickets, two hot dogs, two drinks, and two boxes of popcorn for just $30.
– 12/15 vs. Florida, 7:05: Cards for Soldiers Night. Children who bring a homemade holiday card to send to our soldiers overseas get into the game for free with a paying adult. Limit one free kid’s ticket per paying adult. All you have to do is bring your card to the game and the Road Warriors will get it to the troops.
– 12/17 vs. Gwinnett, 7:05: Toy Toss Night to benefit Toys for Tots. Bring a stuffed animal with you to the game and throw it onto the ice when the Road Warriors score their first goal of the game. Tossed stuffed animals will be donated to Toys for Tots. Fans who bring a stuffed animal get a free child’s ticket with the purchase of an adult ticket
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