GREENVILLE, SC – Tonight the scene for the Palmetto State Rivalry shifts to Greenville and the BI-LO Center where the Road Warriors will play host to the South Carolina Stingrays. It is the second of four games between the teams this week and just the third home game in the last four weeks for the Road Warriors.
RECAPPING THE ACTION:
2/15/11 – GRW 2 – S.C. 3
The Road Warriors’ first period went just like they had scripted it, but after the opening frame Greenville had a hard time converting opportunities into goals. Brandon Wong fired home a power play goal at 9:01 of the first to put Greenville on the board first. The goal was Wong’s 17th of the season and came on the Road Warriors’ first power play opportunity. Four more in the game went by without any results and that was part of the reason South Carolina battled back to take a 3-1 lead. Matt Scherer and Jake Hauswirth scored 2:20 apart near the midway point of the second period to put the Stingrays in the driver’s seat and Derek Keller followed those with a power play goal at 13:12 of the third that proved to be the eventual game winner. Greenville made a valiant comeback attempt and received a goal from Wes Cunningham with Nic Riopel pulled for the extra attacker at 18:47 of the third. A charging minor to Trent Campbell gave the Road Warriors a power play, and a 6-on-4 skater advantage, for the last 20 seconds, but the tying goal was nowhere to be found. Rookie Shane Owen earned the win in goal for the Stingrays, his third as a pro, while Riopel was saddled with the loss.
WHAT’S ON TAP FOR TONIGHT:
The week of the Palmetto State Rivalry continues tonight with game two of four this week between the Road Warriors and Stingrays. South Carolina won round one on Wednesday night by a 3-2 count in North Charleston. The win was the fifth straight for South Carolina over Greenville dating back to December 31, 2010. The Stingrays have the second-fewest road wins in the South Division (12) but have won their last two games at the BI-LO Center by a combined 7-4 score. The last time Greenville played S.C. on back-to-back home dates (Oct. 29 & 30) they swept the games by a 9-3 count.
A pair of Road Warriors passed the 100-point mark for their ECHL careers this month. Connor Shields reached the milestone with his assist on Shane Harper’s overtime winner on February 11 and Wes Cunningham earned his with the first of two assists on Feb. 12 at Kalamazoo. Cunningham is in the midst of his most productive month of the season with five points (2G, 3A) while Shields is just under a point per game this month with six (1G, 5A) in seven games.
– Road Warriors have given up the third fewest first-period goals (42) in the ECHL.
– The Road Warriors lead the ECHL in first goals with 32.
– They are 23-8-1 when scoring first and have the 11th highest win percentage when scoring first.
– Seven of the last 10 games the Road Warriors have played in have been decided by one goal (5-2-0).
– Greenville is 1-for-19 on the power play (5.2%) in its last five home games (1-4-0).
– The Road Warriors have 10 games remaining against South Division opponents (4 home, 6 away).
When you’re at the BI-LO Center for tonight’s game be sure to visit the BB&T Fans Services Table for information on 2011-12 season tickets and how you can attend the first three games of the 2011 Kelly Cup Playoffs for free! Also, don’t forget about tonight’s special post-game jersey auction where you can bid on one of the special jerseys that will be worn only for tonight’s “Stop Polio Cold” game. A portion of the proceeds from the jersey auction will be donated to Rotary of Greenville’s “End Polio Now” campaign which raises funds to deliver the polio vaccine to foreign countries where the disease still exists. For more information on tonight’s events please call 864-674-PUCK.
