ESTERO, FL – The Greenville Road Warriors conclude their season series against South Division rival Florida this evening in a 5:00 game at Germain Arena. The Road Warriors have won four of their seven previous games at the home of the Everblades.
RECAPPING THE ACTION
3/15/11 – GRW 3 – FLA 4 (OT)
The Road Warriors fought tooth-and-nail to make it to overtime and pick up a point against the Everblades on Saturday night. Florida jumped on the board first on a power play goal by Mathieu Roy at 15:55 of the first period. The lead could have been bigger, but Nic Riopel made a save on a Dusty Collins breakaway earlier in the frame. Florida’s lead was wiped out by Chris Clackson’s goal with 58 seconds remaining in the second period. His backhand shot from the right wing was set up by Brendan Connolly and T.J. Reynolds. In the third, the teams traded goals with Florida grabbing leads of 2-1 and 3-2, but the Road Warriors answered each time less than 30 seconds later. Alex Hutching’s shorthanded goal at 10:30 briefly broke the lead until Jimmy Kilpatrick potted a power play score 14 seconds later. In the waning minutes Matt Beca scored on Riopel from in tight only to have Connolly knot the score at three 16 seconds after Beca’s tally. Beca had the final word, though, with his winning score, on a delayed penalty call, at 2:55 of overtime.
WHAT’S ON TAP FOR TONIGHT:
Greenville and Florida wrap up their 15-game season series this evening. Since Greenville’s 4-3 shootout win here on February 5 the Road Warriors have gone 8-5-2 while the Everblades are 5-4-1. Greenville’s record at Florida is a solid 4-1-2 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 1.57 and three have gone to overtime. Look for the first period to be critical in this series as Florida ranks third with 68 first period goals and Greenville ranks fourth with 50 first period goals given up.
After coming to Greenville from Cincinnati via trade in early February, Chris Clackson found his offensive groove. He scored his first Road Warriors goal on Feb. 12 in Kalamazoo, and following a two-game point droughthas rattled off six consecutive games with a point (3G, 3A). That current streak is the longest of his career and earned him a call up to Rochester of the AHL. He has seven points (4G, 3A) in 11 games with the Road Warriors.
-Greenville is the only team in the ECHL with a top-five offense (3.4/gm, 4th, and top-five defense (2.78/gm, 2nd).
– Greenville has six PPG in its last three games and ranks seventh in the league with 55 PPG this season.
– The Road Warriors’ magic number to clinch a playoff spot is 7 points. The magic number to clinch the South Division, and home ice advantage, is 10 points.
– Jimmy Kilpatrick’s current eight-game point streak (4G, 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 (17-12-3).
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.oo Selected Draft Beers and Fountain Sodas. You can also head to Carolina Ale House after the game and enjoy $1.oo 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.
