VERSUS 
NORTH CHARLESTON, SC – The Greenville Road Warriors struck first against South Carolina on Saturday night, but had their offense stymied in the final two periods and fell to the South Carolina Stingrays at the North Charleston Coliseum. The loss dropped the Road Warriors‘ record to 25-14-2.
In the first period of the first game of their seven-game road trip the Road Warriors looked like they were dealing with a case of the bus legs as South Carolina had the better of the offensive opportunities for much of the opening frame. At one point the Stingrays had a 9-1 shot advantage, but some superb goaltending by Nic Riopel kept the Road Warriors in the game while the offense found its footing. Connor Shields nearly tallied the first goal of the game with a shorthanded breakaway at 8:15 of the period, but Jared DeMichiel came through with the pad save. Shields did have a say, though, in the first goal of the game as he, along with Shane Harper, set up Brandon Wong‘s 14th goal of the campaign at the 13:06 mark to give Greenville a 1-0 lead. With the help of Riopel’s 12 saves in the frame, Greenville held that advantage after the first 20 minutes of play.
Greenville saw the momentum that it generated in the first period evaporate in the second thanks to three unanswered goals by the Stingrays. Marc-Olivier Vallerand was guilty of tripping at 18:56 of the first and South Carolina took advantage of the carry-over of time into the second. Josh Godfrey netted his 12th goal of the season 44 seconds into the frame to tie it at one. At 4:48, in his first ECHL game since December 7, Nikita Kashirsky eluded T.J. Reynolds on the left wing and fired a shot past Nic Riopel to give South Carolina the lead. Insurance came from Pierre-Luc O’Brien at 13:04 as the Stingrays forward scored on a wraparound. Greenville had a healthy shot advantage (12-9) in the second, but could not find a way to beat DeMichiel.
The Road Warriors had their best period, in terms of shots and scoring chances, in the third, but a pair of goals by the Stingrays kept the Road Warriors from pulling off the comeback. Greenville registered 16 shots on DeMichiel in the frame, and earned both power play chances but the offense could not produce a goal. Kashirsky added his second goal of the night with 11:32 gone by to build up South Carolina’s lead to 4-1. Zach Jones was whistled for high sticking with 2:57 left to play, and the Road Warriors went ultra-aggressive by pulling Riopel for the extra attacker. It was a shorthanded empty-net goal by Rob Ricci that iced the game, though, at the 17:24 mark.
Riopel ended the night with 20 saves. The Road Warriors were 0-for-6 on the power play and 3-for-4 on the penalty kill.
Mark your calendars! The Road Warriors will return home from a seven-game road trip on Wednesday, February 9 to take on the South Carolina Stingrays at 7:05 p.m. at the BI-LO Center. The Road Warriors will be celebrating Valentine’s Day with special games and promotions throughout the evening. Group seating remains available for the game and you can call 864-674-PUCK to book your group outing and save off the box office price, receive preferred seating based on availability, and enjoy other great benefits.
