GREENVILLE, SC – After nearly a month off, the Battle of I-85 resumes tonight with the Greenville Road Warriors hosting the Gwinnett Gladiators. It is one of three remaining home games between Greenville and its nearest rival.
RECAPPING THE ACTION:
2/20/11 – GRW 2 – S.C. 4
A chance to win three of four over South Carolina last week went by the wayside on Sunday evening as the Road Warriors could not overcome a stingy Stingray defense. The Road Warriors were limited to 27 shots on goal in the game and allowed 41 to South Carolina. Trent Campbell and Rob Ricci scored 1:14 apart midway through the first to open up a 2-0 lead before Marc-Olivier Vallerand’s team-leading 18th goal of the season at 13:46 pulled the Road Warriors back within one. That goal was canceled out, however, by South Carolina’s 5-on-3 power play goal by Joe Finley 58 seconds after Vallerand’s score. The Road Warriors nearly went into the third down by two, but Chris Clackson scored a rebound with 18 seconds remaining in the middle period and gave the Road Warriors a chance in the third. Limited to just eight shots, though, Greenville never put enough pressure on the ‘Rays and goalie Shane Owen to complete the comeback. Pierre-Luc O’Brien scored an empty-net goal with four seconds left to seal the victory.
2/19/11 – GWT 3 – FLA 7
The Gladiators squandered a trio of one-goal leads to the Florida Everblades last Saturday and suffered their second-straight loss at Germain Arena as a result. Dustin Cameron (5) and Danick Paquette (10) each tallied in the first period for the Gladiators and they led 2-1 after the opening 20 minutes. After Matt Beca had tied the game at 3:08 of the second, Cody Brookwell restored the Gladiators’ one-goal advantage with 5:13 left in the second. The goal was Brookwell’s second of the season and looked huge for the Gladiators because they are 16-0-0 when leading after two. That all changed on Mathieu Roy‘s 11th goal of the season with 40 seconds to play in the second. That was part of five unanswered goals by the Everblades as they erupted for four in the third period. Francis Lemieux (4:08), Alex Imbeault (5:55, 14:24) and Tony Mosey (8:33) surged the Everblades ahead and earn two points for the win. Chris Carrozzi played the entire game for Gwinnett and turned aside 36 of the shots he faced.
WHAT’S ON TAP FOR TONIGHT:
The last time Greenville and Gwinnett met was on January 23 in Gwinnett and the Road Warriors’ 2-1 win broke a four-game losing streak at the hands of the Gladiators. In the month since that game the Road Warriors have won six and lost six while the Gladiators have won three of nine. The last time Greenville hosted Gwinnett, the Gladiators bounced back from a two-goal third period deficit and went on to win 8-6 on January 14. The game is a makeup date for the postponed game from December 14 and is the third-to-last home game of the season against Gwinnett. From this point on the Gladiators are the only South Division team that will visit the BI-LO Center.
Greenville’s offense has not scored more than four goals in a winning effort since a 5-1 triumph over the Wheeling Nailers on Sunday, Jan. 2. The only other times the offense an equal amount, or more, were in losses to Gwinnett on Jan. 14 (6-8) and Kalamazoo on Feb. 12 (5-8). Tonight, though, could be a good opportunity for the Road Warriors to turn that around. Gwinnett has been struggling defensively over its last handful of games. Dating back to that 8-6 game in Greenville the Gladiators have given up an average of 4.3 goals per game (56 goals against in 13 games). Only three times over that stretch have the Gladiators kept their opponent to under three goals (2-1-0).
Tonight’s game marks the final quarter of the Road Warriors’ 2010-11 schedule. It is back-loaded with non-divisional games and Greenville plays 10 of its final 18 against the North or Atlantic Divisions. Greenville will be busy over the final six weeks as it has played the second fewest games (53) in the South Division at this point.
Tonight’s game features the Road Warriors’ final Two-fer Tuesday offer of the season. Fans who purchase the package through the BI-LO Center Box Office get two center ice tickets, two hot dogs, two boxes of popcorn, and two fountain drinks for just $30! The Two-fer Tuesday package gives you savings of $24 as opposed to buying everything at full price. Be sure to stick around after the game for a post-game autograph session with defensemen Brad Cole and Wes Cunningham. For more information on the game call the Road Warriors at 864-674-PUCK.
