ESTERO, FL – The Greenville Road Warriors peppered the Florida Everblades‘ net with 39 shots on Wednesday night, but it wasn’t enough as they ultimately fell by a 5-2 score. The loss dropped Greenville’s record to 27-16-2 on the season.
The Road Warriors came out with energy in the first period and had a shot advantage that stretched to as much as 9-3 near the midway point of the first. It was an opportunistic Florida offense, though, that gave the home team a 2-0 lead after one. Bobby Raymond punched home his fourth goal of the season, on Florida’s second shot, at 2:20 of the first. Amidst a scramble in front of Nic Riopel, Raymond cashed in a rebound off of a shot from Alex Imbeault. Greenville landed in penalty trouble later in the frame with an interference minor to T.J. Reynolds and a delay of game minor to Brad Cole 1:12 apart. Ethan Graham converted a one-timer for the 5-on-3 goal at 19:03 for Florida’s 2-0 advantage. Riopel turned away nine of the shots he saw
A fluke Florida goal midway through the second period put the Road Warriors in a three-goal hole, but Greenville showed no small amount of determination in trying to battle back. After a breakout pass hit Shane Harper in the skates on the right wing, Florida’s Drew Larman sent a soft pass to the front of the net. Mathieu Roy was camped out in front and used a little backhand deflection to beat Riopel for a 3-0 ‘Blades lead. Just a few minutes later, a hard-working shift by Harper drew a hooking minor on Florida Mike Egener. Chris Chappell potted a power play goal at 14:26 with assists by Trevor Glass and Brandon Wong to put the Road Warriors on the board. The goal broke an 0-for-20 streak on the power play for the Road Warriors.
The Road Warriors turned in an impressive defensive effort in the third period as they limited the Everblades to a paltry two shots on goal. The one caveat, though, was each of those shots ended up in the Greenville net. Carlson potted a power play goal at 6:07 with a one-timer from the left-wing circle. The Everblades didn’t get another shot on net until 1:04 remained in the game, but Imbeault’s bid from center ice ended up in the empty net to salt away the victory. Jimmy Kilpatrick’s power play goal at 11:44 of the third kept Greenville within striking distance. Shane Harper extended his point streak to 11 games with the primary helper. Greenville also had power plays at 12:17 and 15:25 of the third, but was unable to convert.
Riopel suffered the loss while making 16 saves. Greenville was 2-for-6 on the power play and 5-for-7 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.