IT’S GLADIATORS AND ROAD WARRIORS AGAIN 

GREENVILLE, SC – The Greenville Road Warriors welcome a familiar foe to the BI-LO Center tonight with a 7:05 p.m. match against the Gwinnett Gladiators. Tonight’s game kicks off a three-in-three series between the clubs that will conclude with a pair of game in Gwinnett on Friday and Saturday.

RECAPPING THE ACTION:
1/2/11 – GRW 5 – WHL 1

The Road Warriors rang in the new year in fine fashion with a solid bounce back performance, following a 2-0 defeat to South Carolina on New Year’s Eve, against the Nailers last Sunday. Wes Cunningham’s first goal of the season opened the floodgates 1:49 into the contest. Blake Parlett and Marc-Olivier Vallerand followed to earn the Road Warriors a 3-0 lead after one. Wheeling’s Dan Henningson was able to beat Dov Grumet-Morris on a breakaway 6:30 into the second to trim the lead down to two. The third, however, belonged to the Road Warriors and they never let Wheeling back into the game. In just his second game with the team, Road Warriors defenseman Lee Baldwin scored his first goal by finishing off a 2-on-1 with Connor Shields just past the seven-minute mark. Sean Berkstresser added a power play goal with 44 seconds remaining for insurance. Grumet-Morris picked up his league-leading 15th win of the season with 28 saves.

1/4/11 – GWT 1 – S.C. 4

Gwinnett began a stretch of four games in five days with a road contest in Charleston against the Stingrays on Tuesday. Rob Ricci was the star of the night as he posted a hat trick in the Stingrays’ 4-1 win. Ricci followed a Luke Popko first-period goal to build up a 2-0 lead for the Stingrays at 13:05 of the first. Gwinnett’s leading scorer, Tim Miller, trimmed the lead to one 1:57 after Ricci’s goal, but Gwinnett would not get any closer than that. A scoreless second period gave Gwinnett a chance in the third to climb back in, but Ricci slammed that door shut at 6:34 of the third. Gwinnett pulled goalie Edward Pasquale for an extra attacker and with the empty net Ricci was able to complete the hat trick with his 13th goal of the season. The loss was the second time in the last three games that the Gladiators were held to one goal, and their 11th straight against a South Division opponent.

WHAT’S ON TAP FOR TONIGHT:

With Nic Riopel returning to the Road Warriors earlier this week it gives Greenville a tandem in net that is sure to make things difficult on opposing offenses. Riopel is 6-2-1 with the Road Warriors, but has not been with the team since a call up to the Phantoms on November 19. The rookie Beloiel, Quebec was 3-6-0 on the call up and had won three of his last five starts before returning to Greenville. One of those three wins was his first AHL shutout with 26 saves against Syracuse on Dec. 28. The other half of the tandem is Dov Grumet-Morris who was named ECHL Goalie of the Month for December after going 9-2-1 in the month with a 1.56 goals-against average and a .942 save percentage. The 28-year-old from Evanston, Illinois has started 14 consecutive games for the Road Warriors and leads the ECHL with 15 wins on the season.

Gwinnett may be Greenville’s closest rival at 124 miles away, but on the ice the rivalry hasn’t been that close as of late. The Road Warriors have reeled off four consecutive wins against the Gladiators and out-scored Gwinnett by a 17-3 count over that stretch. The dynamic of the rivalry has changed drastically in the last month. On December 2 Greenville and Gwinnett met at the BI-LO Center with first place in the South Division on the line. Gwinnett was leading Greenville by one point going into the game, but Greenville romped in a 7-1 win and hasn’t looked back since. That win was part of a nine-win month of December for the Road Warriors while the loss started Gwinnett on an 11-game losing streak that didn’t end until a 3-2 shootout win over Wheeling on Dec. 28.

Tonight’s game is the first for Road Warriors head coach Dean Stork since being named the coach of the ECHL All-Star Team on Tuesday, January 4. Stork was selected as the coach of the All-Star Team based on leading the Road Warriors to the best winning percentage through games played on Jan. 1, 2011. Stork has helped guide the Road Warriors to the most wins (23), fewest losses (7), best offensive production (3.7 goals/game), and second-best team goals-against average (2.31) in the ECHL. Stork was named the first head coach in Road Warriors history on June 29, 2010 after four seasons, and two Kelly Cup Championships, with the Cincinnati Cyclones from 2006 to 2010.

Please click here for tonight’s media kit.

Please click here for Game Notes page one.

Please click here for Game Notes page two.

Please click here for Road Warriors player info.

Please click here for Gladiators player info.

The Road Warriors are hosting a Dollar Drink Thursday at tonight’s game which means select draught beers and fountain drinks are on sale for just $1! There is also group seating still available. Your group of 10 or more can save off the box office price, receive preferred seating based on availability, and enjoy other great benefits by booking a group outing. Call 864-674-PUCK today to speak to a Road Warriors group sales representative.