FLORIDA AGAIN?

ESTERO, FL – Tonight’s game is the second of a three-game series between the Greenville Road Warriors and the Florida Everblades. It’s also Greenville’s sixth of a season-high seven-game road trip in which the Road Warriors are 2-3-0 after Wednesday’s setback.

RECAPPING THE ACTION:

2/2/11 – GRW 2 – FLA 5

The Road Warriors’ first game in Florida in nearly two months did not get off to a great start as the Everblades built up a 3-0 lead through the first period and a half. Bobby Raymond’s fourth goal of the season 2:20 into the first put Florida up front and his score was followed up by a 5-on-3 goal by defenseman Ethan Graham at 19:03. The eventual game winner came at 8:06 of the second when Mathieu Roy redirected a pass from Drew Larman past Nic Riopel. The Road Warriors tried to claw away the lead and got started on the path with a power play goal from Chris Chappell at 14:26 of the second period. The Road Warriors faced the same two-goal defecit to begin the third period, but it grew to three on a Ross Carlson goal at 6:07. Jimmy Kilpatrick’s first goal, a power play tally at 11:44, since December 19 pulled Greenville back within two. Over the final eight minutes of the game the Road Warriors had two power play opportunities, and also pulled Riopel for an extra attacker around the 2:30 mark, but could not get another shot past Bobby Goepfert. Mike McKenzie added an empty net score with 1:04 left to play to seal the game for the Everblades.

WHAT’S ON TAP FOR TONIGHT:

Tonight is the second of the Road Warriors’ second three-game series at Germain Arena and is the sixth game of their season-long seven game road trip. Greenville is 2-3-0 on the trip after Wednesday night’s loss. In the season series between Greenville and Florida the Road Warriors hold a sound advantage with a 7-2-2 record, including 2-1-1 here at Germain Arena. In their last series here, the Road Warriors limited Florida to five goals in three games and earned five of six points (2-0-1). After tonight, just three games remain in the season series between the clubs.

Shane Harper came to the pro ranks after a prolific career with the Everett Silvertips of the WHL. He finished last season with a club record 42 goals and set the all-time mark for goals in a career with 100. His assist last game extended his point streak to a career-best 11 games (6G, 8A) which is the second-longest in the ECHL this season and second-longest for the Road Warriors. He has at least one point in 17 of his 21 games.

• Chris Chappell has four goals in his last six games after going 17 games without to begin the season.

• Greenville is 5-for-22 on the PP at Germain Arena this season.

• Greenville leads the league w/58 second period goals while Florida has given up 54 in the second (2nd most in ECHL).

• Tonight is the sixth game of the Road Warriors’ longest road trip of the season. They play seven straight away from the BI-LO Center from 1/22 to 2/5/11. Over that span they will travel 3,310 miles. They are 2-3-0 on the trip so far.

• Dov Grumet-Morris has lost four consecutive games dating to Jan. 6. He has allowed 17 goals in his last four starts.

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.