Greenville, SC – The Greenville Road Warriors defeated the Cincinnati Cyclones 5-0 at the BI-LO Center on Friday night to clinch their first ever playoff berth. The win improved Greenville’s record to 40-21-4 on the season.
The Road Warriors jumped on the Cyclones early in the first period after a minor penalty to Cincinnati’s Garrett Suter. Greenville’s Jimmy Kilpatrick settled in behind the net and sent a pass across the slot directly onto to the stick of Marc-Olivier Vallerand who one-timed it past Cyclones’ goalie Brian Foster‘s glove to give the Road Warriors an early 1-0 lead. Vallerand’s power play goal was his 25th of the season and came 1:12 into the game. Kilpatrick and Justin Bowers recorded assists on the goal. Not satisfied with a one goal advantage, Matt Schepke blasted a shot from the right face-off past Foster’s glove side for his fourth goal of the season. Brendan Connolly and Lee Baldwin each received assists on the play. Greenville’s fans were introduced to goalie Chris Beckford-Tseu who was claimed off of waivers from Victoria earlier in the week. He made Greenville’s two-goal lead stand up at the first intermission with 11 saves in the period.
The first 15 minutes of the second period showcased some good defense, backed by some stellar net play from each goalie. However, the Road Warriors returned to the form showcased early in the first and scored two goals in under a minute. Andrew Rowe scored a goal for the second game in a row on a rebound slapped in past Foster to extend the Road Warriors lead at 15:17. Bowers and Kilpatrick each picked up their second assist of the game. Shortly after, Connolly sent a beautiful feed to Schepke as he cut toward the net. Schepke controlled the puck with his skate and banged home his second goal of the night at 16:14. Tempers flared near the end of the second period when a melee broke out between players after the Road Warriors second goal of the period. Greenville’s Vallerand and Cincinnati’s Brian O’Hanley received game misconducts for a secondary altercation after Brad Cole initially dropped the gloves with Eric Kattelus.
The third period was quieter on the offensive end compared to the first two frames, but the pace began to change midway through the period when Greenville’s Sean Berkstresser and Cincinnati’s Mike Liambas dropped gloves and squared off near center ice. Berkstresser was hit with a 10 minute misconduct penalty to go along with the five minute major for the fight. Greenville added a late power play goal by Chris Chappell at 17:27 to finish off the Cyclones’ for the night. Bowers and Kilpatrick each picked up their third assist for the night.
Beckford-Tseu earned his first shutout of the season with a 27-save effort. The Road Warriors went 2-for-7 on the power play and 4-for-4 on the penalty kill.
Mark your calendars! The Road Warriors will return to home ice at the BI-LO Center to battle the Cincinnati Cyclones in the final game of a three-game series on Saturday, March 19, 2011. Join the Road Warriors as they will hold a post-game jersey auction of their St. Patrick’s Day-themed jerseys. Fans can bid live on their favorite player’s jersey and the winning bidders get to take the jersey home with them right off of the player’s back! The Road Warriors are also planning a pre-game ceremony to recognize coach Dean Stork and forward Jimmy Kilpatrick and their 2010 Kelly Cup Championship as members of the Cincinnati Cyclones. Group and individual tickets are still available. If you have a group of 10 or more you can receive discounts off the box office price, preferred seating based on availability, and other great benefits. For more information please call 864-674-PUCK to speak to a Road Warriors representative.
