VERSUS 
Greenville, SC – The Greenville Road Warriors struck first on Saturday night but could not build on the lead and eventually fell to the Kalamazoo Wings by a 2-1 count. The loss dropped Greenville’s record to 24-12-2 on the season.
The Road Warriors came out early in the first period looking to set a defensive tone and take control on the offensive end. Greenville got some early chances, but was unable to crack Kalamazoo’s goalie Ryan Nie. Kalamazoo’s Kory Karlander received a two minute hooking penalty to give the Road Warriors a 4-3 man advantage. Shortly after the sides evened up Greenville’s Brandon Wong found himself in the right place at the right time. After a blistering shot by Mark Voakes hit off of Nie’s pad landed behind the goalie, Wong managed to punch it in after a few chances to give the Road Warriors a 1-0 lead at 7:56. The goal brought a season-best crowd of 5,860 to its feet. Wong’s goal extended his point streak to six games and gave him four goals in the last two. Voakes and Shane Harper both assisted on the play. Both defenses clamped down and both goalies were solid for the remainder of the period. Greenville outshot Kalamazoo 10-7 with the seven saves coming from Nic Riopel.
Much to the chagrin of the Road Warriors, the second period was reminiscent of last night’s third period. The Road Warriors played well defensively in spots, but gave up 16 shots in the second period to Kalamazoo. Riopel was unable to withstand the barrage as the Wings were aided by a roughing penalty called against Road Warriors captain T.J. Reynolds. Utilizing the extra man, Kalamazoo was able to put some shots on goal and Justin Taylor evened the score just after Reynolds came out of the penalty box. The Wings pushed ahead of the Road Warriors when Taylor scored his second goal of the night. Taking advantage of a fortunate rebound from his own initial shot, Taylor punched it in for his 13th goal on the season. The Wings solidified the defense in front of Nie for the rest of the period and he managed to turn away all 14 Road Warrior shots. Both Greenville and Kalamazoo were 0-for-1 on power play opportunities.
The defenses turned up the heat in the third as Kalamazoo looked to secure its first win against the Road Warriors this season. Greenville managed only seven shots in the third period as the Wings defense took control. Kalamazoo’s Ryan McGinnis received a two minute hooking penalty with 2:50 left giving the Road Warriors a late opportunity to knot the score and send the game into overtime. Greenville managed only two shots during the power play and sent an extra attacker on ice, pulling the goalie in a list ditch effort to score. Kalamazoo received a late hooking penalty with just over six seconds remaining in the game, but the Road Warriors were unable to capitalize with a two-man advantage. The 2-1 loss was Greenville’s first defeat at the hands of a team from the North Division and its first loss against Kalamazoo this season.
Riopel sustained the loss while making 28 saves. The Road Warriors were 0-for-7 on the power play and 3-for-3 on the penalty kill.
Mark your calendars! The Road Warriors are back on home ice Monday, January 17 to tangle, once again, with Kalamazoo. It’s a special 1:05 p.m. start time on Martin Luther King Jr. Day and there will be a post-game skate with the Road Warriors. The skate is free to attend for anyone with a game ticket and skates are available to rent from the BI-LO Center. If you have a group of 10 or more call the Road Warriors at 864-674-PUCK to book your group and save off the box office price, receive preferred seating based on availability, and enjoy other great benefits.
Leave a Reply