ROAD WARRIORS WEEKLY #21: 3/7/11-3/13/11 

GREENVILLE, SC – The Greenville Road Warriors won two of three games last weekend at home against Atlantic Division foes and lengthened their division lead over the South Carolina Stingrays. This week the Road Warriors are off to southwest Florida one last time this season for a two-game series with the Florida Everblades.

Record: 37-21-3, 77 pts., 1st place South Division

Leaders:
Goals – Marc-Olivier Vallerand: 23

Assists – Mark Voakes: 38

Points – Mark Voakes: 55

+/- – Brendan Connolly: +20

PIMs – T.J. Reynolds: 185

PPG – Jimmy Kilpatrick: 9

SHG –Marc-Olivier Vallerand: 4

Wins – Nic Riopel: 19

GAA – Dov Grumet-Morris: 2.32

SVP – Dov Grumet-Morris: .922

This Week:
3/12 & 3/13 at Florida, 7:00 p.m. & 5:00 p.m. – Home (5-1-1), Away (4-1-1)

This weekend the Road Warriors wrap up their season series with the Florida Everblades with a pair of games at Germain Arena. That building has been the site of several dramatic, nail-biting games between the South Division rivals. Most recently, Greenville prevailed in a 12-round shootout to win 4-3 on February 5. That win gave Greenville the win in the three-game series two games to one – the same as they achieved in their first three-game series in Florida in early December. The Road Warriors enter the week with an 11-point lead over the ‘Blades in the South Division standings. Florida split a pair of games with the South Carolina Stingrays last weekend and is 3-2-1 over its last six games. The Road Warriors’ nine wins against Florida are the most against any of their opponents.

Day by Day:
Mon. 3/7: Off
Tues. 3/8: Off

Wed. 3/9: Practice at The Pavilion, 9:00 a.m.

Thurs. 3/10: Practice at The Pavilion, 9:00 a.m.

Fri. 3/11: Practice at Germain Arena, 12:00 noon
Sat. 3/12: Road Warriors at Everblades, 7:00 p.m.

Sun. 3/13: Road Warriors at Everblades, 5:00 p.m.

Day-by-Day schedule subject to change.
Broadcast Schedule:
Sat. 3/12: Road Warriors at Everblades, 7:00 p.m.

Sun. 3/13: Road Warriors at Everblades, 5:00 p.m.

All Road Warriors radio broadcasts can be heard online for free courtesy of America One. Point your browser to www.greenvilleroadwarriors.com and click “Listen Live” to join Ray Schmitt on the broadcasts. Road Warriors fans can also watch Internet TV broadcasts of the games by clicking here. All broadcasts begin 15 minutes prior to face off with the Road Warriors Pregame Show. Fans can also email Radio Ray and have their questions read during the broadcast! Send your questions to grwradioray@gmail.com.

Last Week: (2-1-0)

3/4 vs. Trenton: W 3-2 OT

The only meeting of the season between the Road Warriors and Devils provided a memorable finish as the Road Warriors tied the game late before winning in overtime. Shane Harper scored the lone goal of the first period and gave the Road Warriors a lead at 1:42. Newcomer Marc-Andre Bourdon’s shot from the point created the rebound that Harper nudged past Dave Caruso. The second, however, belonged to the Devils who scored twice and took the lead into the third. Ryan Ginand knotted the score from close range at 5:41 with his 26th goal of the season and a shorthanded goal by Kory Nagy at 13:07 propelled Trenton into the lead. The Road Warriors battled hard in the third period to produce the tying goal, but nearly ran out of time. With the teams even at four skaters each Trevor Kell took an interference minor off of a faceoff that gave Greenville the 4-on-3 advantage which became 5-on-3 with Nic Riopel pulled for the extra attacker. Jimmy Kilpatrick swatted in a goal with 1:28 remaining and sent the game into extra time. Greenville dominated the OT session, out-shot Trenton 4-0, and received the game winning goal from Mark Voakes with 1:05 remaining.

3/5 vs. Elmira: W 5-3

Saturday was another successful venture against a brand new opponent thanks to a three-goal third period that lifted the Road Warriors over the Jackals. Brendan Connolly opened the scoring for Greenville at 5:26 of the first with his 16th of the season, and fellow former Jackal Wes Cunningham assisted on the goal. That lead was wiped out by goals from Elmira’s A.J. Perry (9:33, 1st pd.) and Michael Dubuc (1:09, 2nd pd., PPG). Unlike the previous night, the Road Warriors didn’t wait until the very end to crank up the offense. Marc-Olivier Vallerand knotted the game at two with a power play goal at 10:14 of the second and it was all Greenville from the midpoint of the third on. Brandon Wong scored on a deflection at 13:47, Sean Berkstresser slammed a loose puck home at 16:30, and Justin Bowers added a power play tally with 31 seconds remaining. Elmira made a little noise late with Tristin Llewellyn’s first professional goal with seven seconds to play, but the outcome had been determined by then. Nic Riopel made 21 saves to earn the win.

3/6 vs. Elmira: L 5-6

Greenville suffered a stinging defeat on Sunday evening as the Road Warriors gave up a pair of shorthanded goals in the third period and squandered a one-goal lead to Elmira. A three-goal outburst in the first period had Greenville comfortably ahead after 20 minutes. Wes Cunningham had a hand in each first period score with assists on goals by Marc-Olivier Vallerand (10:28) and Jimmy Kilpatrick (12:44) and then scoring his sixth goal of the season at 14:03. The script was flipped in the second period as Elmira picked up a pair of goals from Yannick Tifu and Dale Mahovsky to slice Greenville’s lead to one. The Jackals’ rally continued in the third with Tifu tying the score 1:46 into the frame. Greenville briefly retook the lead on Matt Schepke’s goal at 3:38, but Michael Dubuc tied the score at four 12 seconds later. Shane Harper restored Greenville’s lead at 7:35 with a power play goal and then with 4:22 left the Road Warriors had a chance to ice the game with a power play. Instead, Tifu set up Justin Donati at 15:50 for a shorthanded goal to tie the game then scored the game winner at 17:20. Nic Riopel sustained the loss and made 22 saves in the game.

ONE-TIMERS:
Scoring Streaks:
Goals:

·    M. Vallerand, 2 games (2G); 3/5-3/6

Assists:

·    B. Parlett, 3 games (4A); 2/11-2/15

·    J. Brouillette, 2 games (2A); 12/10-12/11

·    W. Cunningham, 3 games (4A); 3/4-3/6

·    M. Schepke, 2 games (2A); 3/5-3/6

·    B. Connolly, 3 games (4A); 3/4-3/6

Points:

·    J. Brouillette, 2 games (2G, 2A); 12/10-12/11

·    B. Parlett, 3 games (1G, 3A); 2/11-2/15

·    W. Cunningham, 3 games (1G, 4A); 3/4-3/6

·    J. Kilpatrick, 7 games (3G, 4A); 2/22-3/6

·    M. Vallerand, 3 games (2G, 3A); 3/4-3/6

·    J. Bowers, 2 games (1G, 2A); 3/5-3/6

·    M. Schepke, 2 games (1G, 2A); 3/5-3/6

·    B. Connolly, 4 games (3G, 4A); 2/27-3/6

Quick Hits:

· Greenville is tied with South Carolina and Alaska for the most home victories in the ECHL at 20.

· Mark Voakes became the 18th Road Warrior to be promoted to the AHL when the Portland Pirates called him up on March 6, 2011. Voakes had two points (1G, 1A) in his AHL debut that same day.

· The Road Warriors have scored five power play goals in their last two games and rank seventh in the ECHL with 54 power play goals on the season. Jimmy Kilpatrick leads the Road Warriors with nine PPG.

· The Road Warriors’ magic number to clinch a playoff berth is eight. Any combination of the ninth place team in the conference losing points and the Road Warriors gaining points trims that number. The magic number to clinch the South Division is 17.

· Jimmy Kilpatrick’s current seven-game point streak (3G, 4A) is his longest of the season. His goal on March 6 vs. Elmira was his 150th ECHL point.

Mark your calendars! Don’t forget about these upcoming promotions:
3/17 vs. Cincinnati, 7:05: Join the Road Warriors for Dollar Drink Thursday at the BI-LO Center. What better way is there to spend Saint Patrick’s Day than with the Road Warriors enjoying select draught beers and fountain drinks for $1? The Road Warriors will also debut their St. Patty’s Day jerseys this night.

3/18 vs. Cincinnati, 7:05: This game is your final chance to take advantage of the SPINX Friday Family Four-Pack. The special deal gets you four tickets, four hot dogs, four fountain drinks, four bags of chips, and four pretzels for just $48! The SPINX Friday Family Four-Pack can be purchased through the BI-LO Center Box Office during regular business hours – 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Monday through Friday. The Road Warriors will don their St. Patty’s Day jerseys for the second straight game.

3/19 vs. Cincinnati, 7:05: It’s the final night to catch the Road Warriors wearing their special St. Patty’s Day green jerseys. There will be a live auction of the jerseys following the game and you could take home your favorite player’s jersey right off of his back. The Road Warriors will also hold a pre-game ceremony to present Dean Stork with his championship ring from the 2010 Kelly Cup championship he won with Cincinnati.