ROAD WARRIORS WEEKLY #9 12/13/10 – 12/19/10 

GREENVILLE, SC – The Greenville Road Warriors skated into south Florida for a three-game series with the Everblades last week and left with five of a possible six points. This week will be busy for the Road Warriors with four games over six days before the Christmas break.

Record: 18-5-2, 38 pts., 1st place South Division
Leaders:
Goals – Brendan Connolly: 13
Assists – Mark Voakes/Justin Bowers: 16
Points – Mark Voakes: 28
+/- – Julien Brouillette: +16
PIMs – T.J. Reynolds: 89
PPG – Julien Brouillette: 7
SHG – Marc-Olivier Vallerand: 3
Wins – Dov Grumet-Morris: 10
GAA – Dov Grumet-Morris: 1.99
SVP – Dov Grumet-Morris: .931

This Week:
12/14, 12/17 vs. Gwinnett, 12/19 at Gwinnett, 7:05 p.m. (12/14 & 12/17) and 4:05 p.m. (12/19) – Home (2-1-0), Away (1-2-0)
The Road Warriors earned a pair of impressive wins in each of the last two meetings between the clubs. A 7-1 win on December 2 broke a personal three game losing streak against the Gladiators and propelled Greenville to the top spot in the South Division. Three days later the Road Warriors earned their first win in the Arena at Gwinnett Center via a 5-1 count. The two wins improved Greenville’s overall record against Gwinnett to 3-3-0 and ensured that they had at least a .500 record against every team they have faced this season. Gwinnett enters play this week mired in a five-game slump in which they have given up 31 goals and scored only nine. The Gladiators ended Greenville’s eight-game home winning streak on November 21 with a 2-1 victory, but Greenville answered back with the 7-1 win on December 2. Prior to the 5-1 win in Gwinnett on December 5, Greenville had lost its first two road games against the Gladiators by a combined 11-4 score.

12/15 vs. Florida, 7:05 p.m. – Home (4-0-1), Away (2-0-1)

On December 8 the Florida Everblades stopped the Road Warriors’ league-leading seven-game win streak with a 3-2 shootout victory at Germain Arena. The win shrunk the Road Warriors’ division lead to two points, but the Road Warriors bounced back to win the final two games of their three-game trip to Estero. The wins pushed Greenville’s overall record against Florida to 6-0-2 and helped the Road Warriors push their division lead to six points. Despite the back-to-back losses last Friday and Saturday the Everblades remain one of the hottest teams in the ECHL with seven wins in their last 10 games. The game could feature plenty of offensive fireworks with Greenville leading the league at 3.88 goals per game and Florida in third with 3.44 goals per game. The Everblades also boast the fifth best power play at 22.1 percent and the league’s leading scorer, Mitch Fadden, who has 39 points (10G, 29A). The Road Warriors, meanwhile, lead the league on the power play at 23.3 percent and have Mark Voakes who ranks fifth in the ECHL with 28 points (12G, 16A).

Broadcast Schedule:
Tues. 12/14: Road Warriors vs. Gwinnett, 7:05 p.m.
Wed. 12/15: Road Warriors vs. Florida, 7:05 p.m.
Fri. 12/17: Road Warriors vs. Gwinnett, 7:05 p.m.

Sun. 12/19: Road Warriors at Gwinnett, 4:05 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:

12/8 at Florida: SOL 2-3

For the first time in their history, the Road Warriors participated in a shootout but they could not use the breakaway competition to pull off a dramatic comeback. The Road Warriors trailed a 1-0 and 2-1 after battling to a scoreless draw in the first period. Justin Bowers put the Road Warriors on the board early in the second period by picking up his ninth goal of the season. The Everblades were nearly able to make their one-goal lead stand up through the final frame but Mark Voakes came through with a clutch goal. Only 2:29 remained in the contest when Voakes whipped a shot past Bobby Goepfert to tie the game at two and send it to overtime. The Road Warriors picked up one standings point for making it to extra time, but could not earn the bonus point. They were forced to kill off a Florida power play for the final 1:22 of overtime just to make it to the shootout. Jimmy Kilpatrick and Brendan Connolly tallied there, but were one shy of Mitch Fadden, Francis Lemieux, and Matt Pistilli who scored for the ‘Blades.

12/10 at Florida: W 2-1

One game after having their seven-game win streak snapped by the Everblades the Road Warriors did some streak snapping of their own. Florida’s seven-game win streak came to a halt with Greenville putting forth a masterful defensive performance. Goalie Dov Grumet-Morris fought off 19 shots from the Everblades and helped Greenville rally from a 1-0 deficit. Mitch Fadden scored in the first period to put Greenville in a hole but rookie Marc-Olivier Vallerand pulled Greenville even with a shorthanded score at the 5:23 mark of the second. With the intermission approaching the newest Road Warrior, Chris McKelvie, chipped a pass to the front of Florida’s net and found an open Brandon Wong. The rookie forward lifted a backhanded shot past Bobby Goepfert to score his first pro game-winning goal. Greenville’s defense held Florida to just four shots in the third period to preserve the win.

12/11 at Florida: W 5-2

After a pair of nail-biting games between the South Division’s top two teams the Road Warriors asserted themselves with a comfortable win in the series finale. After a tightly-played first period the score was even at one apiece after goals from Greenville’s Julien Brouillette and Florida’s David Fischer. As they have done all season, the Road Warriors outplayed the Everblades in the second period and claimed the lead for good. An even strength goal by Mark Voakes, and another power play goal from Brouillette built Greenville’s lead to 3-1 before Alex Imbeault chipped away at it for Florida with a power play goal of his own. There would be no dramatic comeback for Florida, though, thanks to 10 third period saves by Dov Grumet-Morris and goals by Brandon Wong (PP) and Connor Shields (EN, SH).

ONE-TIMERS:
Scoring Streaks:
Goals:

·    B. Wong, 2 games (2G); 12/10-12/11

Assists:

·    J. Brouillette, 2 games (2A); 12/10-12/11

Points:

·    M. Vallerand, 2 games (1G, 1A); 12/10-12/11

·    B. Wong, 2 games (2G); 12/10-12/11

·    J. Brouillette, 2 games (2G, 2A); 12/10-12/11

Quick Hits:

· Mark Voakes was nominated for ECHL Player of the Week after racking up three goals and two assists in three games last week. The second-year forward has 16 assists on the season to lead the team and is fifth in the league with 28 points (12G, 16A).

· Dov Grumet-Morris was nominated for ECHL Goalie of the Week after going 2-0-1 this week with a 1.62 goals-against average, a .928 save percentage. Grumet-Morris leads the Road Warriors in wins (10), goals-against average (1.99) and save percentage (.931).

· Greenville leads the league in power play percentage (23.3) and power play goals (31) while Julien Brouillette is second in power play goals with seven.

· Marc-Olivier Vallerand leads the ECHL with three shorthanded goals while the Road Warriors top the league with seven shorties.

· The Road Warriors are first in the league in goals for per game (3.88) and have the third-lowest team goals-against average in the league at 2.44.

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: Gifts for Soldiers Night. Children who bring a gift or 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 gift or card to the game and the Road Warriors will get it to the troops.

– 12/17 vs. Gwinnett, 7:05: Teddy Bear 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.