WARRIORS AND JACKALS PREVIEW 

GREENVILLE, SC – The Road Warriors‘ busy weekend at home continues tonight with their second game in as many days. It’s another brand new opponent visiting the BI-LO Center at the puck drops at 7:05 p.m. between the Road Warriors and Elmira Jackals.

RECAPPING THE ACTION:

3/4/11 – GRW 3 – TRE 2 (OT)

The Road Warriors got a stern test from the Trenton Devils last night which may have surprised some since the Devils are the 11th place team in the Eastern Conference. Greenville’s persistence paid off, though, and a win in overtime was its reward. Shane Harper gave the Road Warriors their league-leading 36th first goal at 1:42 of the first period. Newcomer Marc-Andre Bourdon keyed the goal with a shot from the point that created the rebound that Harper cashed in for his 15th of the season. Greenville lead 1-0 after one thanks to six saves by Nic Riopel in the opening 20 minutes, but that lead disappeared in the second. Trenton out-shot the Road Warriors 16-13 in the second and scored twice to take the lead into the third. Ryan Ginand tied the score at 5:41 and an unassisted shorthanded goal by Kory Nagy was the go-ahead score at 13:07. Trenton tried to clamp down defensively in the third, but a late power play chance and a pulled goalie gave the Road Warriors the offensive boost needed to tie the game and send it to overtime. Jimmy Kilpatrick’s 13th of the season knotted the game at two with 1:28 to play and Mark Voakes potted the winner at 3:55 of overtime. Riopel didn’t face a shot in overtime, but earned his 18th win of the season with 26 saves.

3/2/11 – ELM 5 – WHL 2

Elmira continued its torrid pace with new coach Robbie Nichols behind the bench and took down the Wheeling Nailers in easy fashion on Wednesday at First Arena. The Jackals made things interesting in the game by twice falling behind the Nailers by one goal. Paul Crowder (18:38, 1st) and Mikael Bedard (6:53, 2nd) put Wheeling ahead by scores of 1-0 and 2-1, but the Nailers’ defense couldn’t keep the high-scoring Jackals in check. Newcomer Billy Siers scored his first goal of the season with 1:11 remaining in the second and tied the game at two. The third period was all Elmira and the Jackals picked up three goals to skate away with the win. Justin Donati had a pair including the game winner at 9:25 (also an empty-netter with one second remaining), and A.J. Perry added an insurance marker at 12:59 for Elmira. Marco Cousineau made his eighth consecutive start that night and posted the win while turning in 32 saves. The win was Elmira’s fourth straight after replacing former coach Malcolm Cameron with Nichols.

WHAT’S ON TAP FOR TONIGHT:

The Road Warriors welcome the Elmira Jackals tonight for the first of two meetings this season. Elmira has surged with new coach Robbie Nichols behind the bench after Malcolm Cameron was relieved of his duties last week. Nichols led the Jackals to wins in each of his first four games at the helm including a 5-2 triumph over Wheeling on Wednesday. Elmira will test the Road Warriors’ defense with the league’s top offense at 3.66 goals per game, but could struggle to contain Greenville’s offense as the Jackals give up 3.61 goals per game. Justin Donati is the catalyst to Elmira’s offense and ranks second in the league with 73 points (19G, 54A).

Mar Voakes appears to be gunning for the “Mr. Clutch” nickname amongst the Road Warriors’ ranks as he picked up his team-leading sixth game winning goal of the season last night. It was also his second overtime winner after scoring a penalty shot goal to beat Gwinnett 1-0 in OT on December 17. Voakes is also 3-for-5 in shootouts this season which leads the Road Warriors. Goals have been tough for Voakes to come by in the second half of the season as 13 of his 17 goals were scored in the 2010 portion of the schedule. It looks like he could be heating up, however. He has game winning goals in back-to-back games after being reunited on a line with Justin Bowers who returned from Portland of the American Hockey League. His playmaking hasn’t lagged in 2011 as evidenced by his 17 assists since the turn of the calendar.

In February, the Road Warriors showcased their ability to score late in games with 24 third-period goals and it helped them pick up eight wins, (three when trailing in the third) over the month. Greenville ranks second in the league in third-period goals with 68 on the season. They also lead the league in first goals with 36 and have the fifth-best win percentage when scoring first (.764). Last night’s win against Trenton was their fourth when trailing after two.

Tonight promises to be an exciting night at the BI-LO Center with the Road Warriors hosting “Pucks for Pups” presented by Camp Bow-Wow. For one night only fans will be able to bring their dogs with them to watch the Road Warriors battle the Jackals. Seven hundred tennis balls provided by Dunlop will be given away to the dogs who come out to the game, and there will even be a “doggy door” where owners can take their pets outside to use the restroom if need be. Fans will be able to re-enter the building through the same door. As part of the festivities, the Road Warriors will host a pre-game ceremony to honor former Greenville Grrrowl players and Grrruf will even be in attendance!