ESTERO, FL – The Greenville Road Warriors are in southwest Florida for the final time this season to battle the Florida Everblades. The two-game mini-series kicks off tonight with a 7:00 p.m. faceoff at Germain Arena.
RECAPPING THE ACTION:
3/6/11 – GRW 5 – ELM 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.
3/5/11 – S.C. 0 – FLA 2
Bobby Goepfert turned in a stellar 28-save performance to propel the Everblades to a 2-0 win over South Carolina a week ago today. The game featured plenty of intensity but not a lot of offense through the first two periods as the teams battled for control of second place in the South Division. Florida’s Tim Spencer squared off with South Carolina’s Joe Finley in a fight 5:14 into the game. Florida held off South Carolina’s early surge as the Stingrays peppered Goepfert with 14 shots in the opening frame while the Everblades were limited to six. Each team only managed six shots in the second and the game remained scoreless heading into the third and final period. As time wound down it looked like the game would head to overtime without a score, but Bobby Raymond changed all that with his sixth goal of the season at the 17:15 mark. Mike McKenzie added an empty netter with 35 seconds to play and that goal sealed the win for the ‘Blades.
WHAT’S ON TAP FOR TONIGHT:
Greenville and Florida renew acquaintances tonight after more than a month’s break in the rivalry. Since Greenville’s 4-3 shootout win here on February 5 the Road Warriors have gone 8-5-1 while the Everblades went 4-4-1. Greenville’s record at Florida is a solid 4-1-1 on the season, but those wins haven’t been easy to come by. The average margin of victory between these teams in games at Florida is just 1.67 and two have gone to shootouts. Look for the first period to be critical in this series as Florida ranks third with 67 first period goals and Greenville ranks fourth with 49 first period goals given up.
Road Warriors rookie Marc-Olivier Vallerand entered this week with 23 goals which are the second most among ECHL rookies. He has reached that level thanks to a surge of six goals in his last eight games including a two-goal effort on Feb. 22 vs. Gwinnett. Prior to his recent spurt, Vallerand had gone a stretch of 21 games from January to mid-February with just four goals. His most productive month was in November when he potted eight goals.
– Greenville is the only team in the ECHL with a top-five offense (3.44/gm, 4th, and top-five defense (2.75/gm, 2nd).
– Greenville has five PPG in its last two games and ranks seventh in the league with 54 PPG this season.
– The Road Warriors’ magic number to clinch a playoff spot is 8 points. The magic number to clinch the South Division, and home-ice advantage, is 13 points.
– 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.
– Greenville’s 17 road wins are the second-most in the conference, and it is the only team in the South with a winning road record (17-12-2).
Mark your calendars! The Road Warriors will return to home ice at the BI-LO Center on Thursday, March 17 to battle the Cincinnati Cyclones at 7:05 p.m. Thursday’s game will be the first of three-game stretch against the Cyclones. Come out and support the Road Warriors by sporting your green to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day as the players will be wearing specialty green jerseys all weekend. The jerseys will be auctioned off immediately after Saturday’s game. Thursday night’s game is also Carolina Ale House Dollar Drink Night and will feature $1.00 Selected Draft Beers and Fountain Sodas. You can also head to Carolina Ale House after the game and enjoy $1.00 selected drafts all night long! Tickets are still available and groups of 10 or more qualify for discounts off of the box office price, preferred seating based on availability, and other great benefits. Call 864-674-PUCK to speak to a Road Warriors group sales representative.
