GREENVILLE, SC – After enjoying a week-long break for the Christmas holiday, the Road Warriors go back to work against the South Carolina Stingrays tonight at 7:05 p.m. at the BI-LO Center. Greenville is looking to improve its standing atop the South Division and also squelch the Stingrays’ five-game winning streak.
RECAPPING THE ACTION:
12/19/10 – GRW 4 – GWT 1
The Road Warriors went into their Christmas break with a bang thanks to great special teams play in last Sunday’s win in Gwinnett. Highlighting the effort were Jimmy Kilpatrick with a pair of power play goals and Marc-Olivier Vallerand with his league-leading fourth shorthanded goal of the season. Kilpatrick broke nearly a month-long goal drought with a power play goal at 15:20 and gave the Road Warriors a 1-0 lead. He doubled that lead at 6:12 of the second with another power play score then Vallerand chipped in his shorty at 14:57. Tim Miller broke up Dov Grumet-Morris‘ shutout bid at 15:37 of the third. There wouldn’t be any late-game dramatics, though, as the Road Warriors killed off a late penalty to Cullen Eddy and Connor Shields netted an even-strength score with 56 seconds left to play. Greenville went 8-for-8 on the penalty kill while Grumet-Morris turned away 31 saves in winning his 12th of the season.
12/26/10 – S.C. 6 – GWT 2
Coming off of a six-day Christmas break of their own, the Stingrays pummeled the Gladiators last night and ran their season-long winning streak to five games. South Carolina actually fell behind in the first minute of play on Danick Paquette’s goal 58 seconds in. After some regrouping the Stingrays rattled off four consecutive goals to grab a lead they wouldn’t relinquish. The entire barrage occurred in the second period and goals were provided by David de Kastrozza, Rob Ricci, Tommy Goebel, and Pierre-Luc O’Brien. Gwinnett’s Aaron Bendickson chipped away at the deficit with a late second-period goal, but South Carolina’s Matt Scherer and Jake Hauswirth potted in the third to keep plenty of distance between the clubs. The Stingrays were 1-for-2 on the power play, 0-for-1 on the penalty kill, and Jared DeMichiel made 23 saves for his eighth win of the season.
WHAT’S ON TAP FOR TONIGHT:
Fans expecting to see an offensive slugfest between the Road Warriors and Stingrays might be in for a rude awakening tonight. This game will feature two of the top defensive clubs in the ECHL. The Road Warriors are second in the league in team goals-against average at 2.39 while South Carolina is right there in fourth with a 2.72 team average. Greenville does hold the edge offensively with a 3.68 goals-per-game average versus South Carolina which is in 16th in the league at 2.76. The Stingrays have surrendered 1.6 goals per game over their five-game winning streak while the Road Warriors have given up 2.2 goals per game in their last five home games.
Jimmy Kilpatrick is one Road Warrior fans may look to for some offensive production tonight. The third-year pro is coming off of a two-goal outing on Dec. 19 in Gwinnett. That gave Kilpatrick his eighth multi-point game of the season, and his second two-goal game. That game broke him out of a slump which saw him notch just one assist over a four-game span. That drought came after a six-game point streak which saw Kilpatrick earn five multi-point games. In all this season, 72 percent of the games in which Kilpatrick registers a point are multi-point games. He has a pair of assists in two games against South Carolina this season.
The Road Warriors will be challenged to contain Stingrays players Josh Godfrey and Tommy Goebel tonight. That pair lead active Stingrays in scoring against Greenville with five points each. Godfrey has 3G, 2A while Goebel has piled up 5A. In the teams’ last meeting on Dec. 4 both Godfrey and Goebel were held scoreless as the Road Warriors picked up a 2-0 win. Godfrey has been scoring at a healthy clip this month with four goals in nine games, but does not have a point in his last three. Goebel, meanwhile, has five points (2G, 3A) in four games this month and notched a goal and an assist in Gwinnett last night.
There’s plenty of excitement on tap outside of the on-ice action tonight. The Road Warriors are hosting the Upstate’s largest Christmas gift exchange tonight. Bring any unwanted gifts to the game and swap it out for something someone else brought! Any unclaimed gifts will be donated by the Road Warriors to Goodwill. The Road Warriors will also be hosting an ugly Christmas sweater contest, and offering a special $8 ticket at the box office for fans with a valid student ID. For more information on tonight’s game and promotions call the Road Warriors at 864-674-PUCK.
