FOUR-IN-A-ROW NOT ALWAYS A GOOD THING 

VERSUS

Greenville, SC – The Greenville Road Warriors were close to ending their three-game losing streak against Gwinnett on Friday night but could not hang onto a third period lead and fell 8-6 at the BI-LO Center. The loss dropped Greenville to 24-11-2 on the season.

The Road Warriors started the first period looking to continue their strong play from the previous night’s win over Florida, but they quickly found themselves staring at a two goal deficit. Gwinnett continued its strong play of late against Greenville lighting the lamp shortly after a face-off and just over a minute into the first period. Gwinnett’s Tom Zanoski slipped the puck past Greenville goalie Dov Grumet-Morris for the first goal of the night. Gwinnett’s Pat Galivan pushed the lead to two at 2:17 sending one past Grumet-Morris for his fourth goal of the season. The Road Warriors cut the lead in half at 5:18 when Brandon Wong sent a rebound past Gwinnett’s goaltender Edward Pasquale. Wong’s tenth goal of the season extended his scoring streak to five games. Jacob Lagace picked up his first point as a Road Warrior with an assist on the play along with Shane Harper. Gwinnett pushed the lead back to two as Greenville gave up its first power play goal in the last six games (22-for-23) at 6:27. Galivan netted his second goal of the night beating Grumet-Morris low stick side. Greenville was able to close the gap again as Brandon Wong picked up his second goal of the night. Blake Parlett, the top scoring first-year defenseman in the ECHL recorded an assist on the play and Harper picked up his second of the night. The defenses for both teams began to pick up as the period progressed until Greenville’s Brad Cole scored his first goal of the season with just under a minute left in the period. Cole drove one past Pasquale from the point to knot the game at three. Chris McKelvie picked up an assist on the play.

The furious scoring frenzy continued into the second period as Gwinnett retook the lead a little over two minutes in. Michael Forney sent a one-timer sailing high past Grumet-Morris glove side for his ninth goal of the season. Midway through the second and Greenville already a man down, the Road Warriors took advantage of a delayed penalty against the Gladiators sending the goalie off and evening the odds with the extra attacker. The Road Warriors nullified the penalty as McKelvie beat Pasquale to tie the game at 4-4. McKelvie’s third goal of the year was assisted by Marc Olivier-Vallerand and Trevor Glass. History was made as Brandon Wong picked up the first hat trick in Road Warriors’ history with his third goal of the night at 14:54. Wong took advantage of a one-on-one opportunity and beat Pasquale to give the Road Warriors their first lead of the night. Wong’s 12^th goal of the season was assisted by Jacob Lagace, his second of the night, and Connor Shields. Greenville continued to pound the net in an effort to extend the lead with Shields taking advantage to give the Road Warriors a two goal advantage beating Pasquale for his tenth goal of the season. Greenville ended the period 1-for-1 on the penalty kill and outshot the Gladiators 13-10.

Looking to extend their unbeaten streak to 20 games when scoring at least four goals, the Road Warriors clamped down defensively through the first half of the third. Greenville could not thwart Gwinnett’s comeback attempt and the Gladiators capitalized with three unanswered goals to take a 7-6 lead late into the third. Gwinnett’s Galivan matched Wong’s hat trick with one of his own at 9:21 and Zanoski picked up his second goal of the night to tie the score with a little over six minutes left in the period. Gwinnett’s Dan Kissell broke the stalemate to give the Gladiators the lead back at 16:07. Gwinnet picked up an empty -netter with just over a minute remaining in the third to set the final score.

Tonight’s Box Score.

Grumet-Morris made 28 saves in taking the loss. Greenville went 0-for-3 on the power play and 3-for-5 on the penalty kill.

Mark your calendars! The Road Warriors are back on home ice to take on the Kalamazoo Wings tomorrow night at 7:05 p.m. at the BI-LO Center. It’s a special hockey double-header with Clemson and Tennessee playing an ACHA game at 3:00 followed by the Road Warriors and Wings. A ticket to the Road Warriors’ game will also get you into the Clemson game. Be sure to stick around for a free concert by Doug Jones, formerly of Cravin’ Mellon from 5:30 – 7:00. Call 864-674-PUCK to book your group outing to save off the box office price, receive preferred seating based on availability, and enjoy other great benefits.