GREENVILLE, SC – The Palmetto State Rivalry resumes tonight with the Road Warriors heading east to pay a visit to the South Carolina Stingrays at the North Charleston Coliseum. The matchup is the first of four this week between the first place Road Warriors and second place Stingrays.
RECAPPING THE ACTION
2/12/11 – GRW 5 – KAL 8
The Road Warriors could not keep the Wings’ offense in check in their final game against Kalamazoo this season. Two first period goals by Trent Daavettila and one by Justin Taylor put the Wings up 3-0 going into the first intermission. The lead would have been greater but Nic Riopel denied Andrew Fournier’s penalty shot 1:29 into the game. In the second, Kory Karlander and Darryl Lloyd built Kalamazoo’s lead to 5-0 before Shane Harper hit paydirt on a 4-on-3 power play 12:28 into the period. Daavetilla capped his hat trick at 16:17 of the second with a power play goal and Connor Shields netted a goal for the Road Warriors with 37 seconds left in the period to cap the scoring in the second. Jimmy Kilpatrick breathed some life into a Road Warriors comeback attempt with his 10th goal of the season 3:29 into the third, but the Wings dashed those hopes with goals by Lloyd and Karlander. Chris Clackson netted his first as a Road Warrior with 1:02 left in regulation and Blake Parlett produced the final score for the Road Warriors with 45 seconds left in regulation to set the final score.
2/13/11 – S.C. 4 – GWT 5 (SO)
The Stingrays had to battle back from a two-goal third period deficit to earn a point for making it past regulation in Gwinnett on Sunday. The Gladiators established a 3-1 lead at the end of one thanks to the efforts of Danick Paquette (two goals), Andy Brandt (one goal), and Edward Pasquale (eight saves). South Carolina’s lone score came off the stick of Trent Campbell 4:44 in and tied the game at one before the Glads answered back with a pair to retake the lead. The Stingrays’ Patrick Cullity trimmed the lead to one with his second goal of the season midway through the second, but on a power play 1:07 later Tim Miller punched in his 20th of the season and restored the two-goal advantage for Gwinnett. Late in the third Matt Scherer and Pierre-Luc O’Brien scored 1:20 apart to even the score at 4-4 and send the game to overtime. After a scoreless sudden-death period the game switched to a shootout where Gwinnett prevailed 2-1. Rob Ricci had the only shootout goal for the Stingrays.
WHAT’S ON TAP FOR TONIGHT:
The Stingrays are one of two teams in the ECHL with a winning record against Greenville. The Road Warriors will try to improve on that mark tonight in the first of four consecutive games against the ‘Rays. Overall, the Road Warriors have lost four games in a row against South Carolina dating back to Dec. 31, 2011 by a combined score of 14-5. This week could prove to be critical in Greenville’s bid for the South Division crown as only two games (both on the road) remain against South Carolina after Sunday evening’s contest.
The South Division is the tightest race in the ECHL right now with only 11 points separating first from fourth place. The Road Warriors will try to make some room for themselves atop the division with 12 of their final 22 games against the South. 20 of the Road Warriors’ 30 wins this season have come against South Division foes.
– Connor Shields’ assist on Shane Harper’s OT winner on Feb. 11 was his 100th ECHL point.
– Blake Parlett matched a career high with three points (1G, 2A) on Feb. 12 at Kalamazoo and now is tied for the lead in points by a defenseman with 30 (7G, 30A).
– Six of the last nine games the Road Warriors have played in have been decided by one goal (5-1-0).
– Greenville is 6-for-24 on the power play (25%) in its last five road games (3-2-0).
– The Road Warriors have 12 games remaining against South Division opponents (5 home, 7 away).
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 SPINX 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.
