WINGS GIVE WARRIORS INDIGESTION 

VERSUS  

KALAMAZOO, MI – There was no dramatic comeback for the Road Warriors on Saturday night as they fell by an 8-5 score to the Kalamazoo Wings at Wings Stadium. The loss dropped Greenville’s record to 30-18-2 on the season.

The start of Saturday’s game closely resembled the start to Friday’s contest in Toledo and that was not good news for the Road Warriors. The Wings built a 3-0 lead through the first 20 minutes of play thanks to a pair of even strength goals by Trent Daavettila and a power play tally from Justin Taylor. Daavettila’s first came at 3:08 of the first thanks to a bank shot off of the end boards by Joe Charlebois. At 10:41, Daavettila punched home a rebound off of a shot from the slot by Andrew Fournier. Taylor was open in the slot on the Wings’ first power play of the night and after taking a pass from Jon Landry he was able to fire a wrist shot past Nic Riopel to the blocker side. The lead could have been four for the Wings, but Riopel turned away a penalty shot that was awarded to Fournier at 1:29.

The Road Warriors found themselves in penalty trouble in the second period and gave the Wings three different power play opportunities. A pair of power play goals helped the Wings extended their lead despite a pair of markers by Greenville. Off of a Road Warriors’ turnover early in the second, Darryl Lloyd converted a shot past Riopel 1:21 into the second and that was followed up by a Kory Karlander power play score at 8:14 as Kalamazoo opened up a 5-0 advantage. Shane Harper answered Karlander’s power play score with one of his own at 12:28 to put the Road Warriors on the board. The goal was Harper’s 10th of the season and second in as many nights with assists going to Mark Voakes and Blake Parlett. Kalamazoo retook a five-goal lead when Daavettila finished his hat trick by tipping in a point shot by Sam Ftorek at 16:17. Before the second finished up, though, the Road Warriors responded with Connor Shields netting his 15th of the season with just 37 seconds left in the period. Brandon Wong assisted on the goal that came as a result of a faceoff win in Wings ice.

The Road Warriors out-scored the Wings 3-2 in the third period, but that wasn’t enough to pull off the comeback and win their third straight at Wings Stadium this season. Jimmy Kilpatrick tipped in a point shot from Wes Cunningham 3:29 into the third to bring the Road Warriors within three goals of the Wings. Greenville couldn’t draw any closer, though, because Lloyd and Karlander each netted their second goals of the night at 7:11 and 16:27, respectively, to build up an 8-3 advantage. Late goals by Greenville’s Chris Clackson and Parlett made the final score more respectable, but the deficit was too much for Greenville to overcome.

Riopel finished the night with 29 saves while the Road Warriors were 1-for-4 on the power play and 1-for-4 on the penalty kill.

Mark your calendars! The Road Warriors return home to battle the South Carolina Stingrays on Friday, February 18 at 7:05 p.m. at the BI-LO Center. The Road Warriors are teaming with Rotary Club of Greenville to host their first “Stop Polio Cold” game. The night features the Road Warriors wearing special red and gold jerseys which will be auctioned off live following the game. Proceeds from the jersey auction and that night’s ticket sales will be donated to Rotary’s “End Polio Now” campaign. You can also take advantage of the Friday Family Four Pack which features four tickets, four hot dogs, four pretzels, four bags of chips, and four sodas for just $48! Also, for information on group packages call 864-674-PUCK to speak to a Road Warriors group sales representative.