VERSUS 
NORTH CHARLESTON, SC – The Greenville Road Warriors earned another one-goal victory over the South Carolina Stingrays on Saturday night at at the Carolina Ice Palace. The 2-1 win made Greenville 2-0-0 in the preseason.
Click here for tonight’s box score
Unlike Friday night’s game, the Road Warriors were unable to duplicate their quick start. This time it was the Stingrays who started fast and grabbed the early advantage. A misfired shot by Greenville in the offensive zone led to a 3-on-1 rush for South Carolina and Maxime Lacroix finished off the rush after a feed from Matt Pope. The goal beat Billy Sauer at 3:41. Sauer kept Greenville within striking distance later in the period, though, as he denied a 2-on-1 attempt by Paul Baier and David de Kastrozza. The Road Warriors received the lone power play chance in the period but could not convert and South Carolina led 1-0 at intermission.
The Road Warriors were on a power play to begin the second period thanks to a boarding minor by Garrett Mitchell at the 20:00 mark of the first. That power play went by the wayside but Greenville’s second chance was much more productive. A shot by Jeff Caister from the point was kicked away by South Carolina goalie Philipp Grubauer but a juicy rebound was pounced on by Brett Robinson and punched home. The power play goal at 5:13 was Greenville’s first man-advantage goal of the preseason. Sauer turned away all five shots he faced in the second frame to keep the game tied heading into the final frame.
A trio of new faces teamed up to give the Road Warriors their first lead of the night near the midway point of the third. period. Defenseman Francis Meilleur sprung Jeremy Gouchie cleanly into the South Carolina zone, and Gouchie hit an open Peter Boyd in front of the net. Boyd’s quick shot slid underneath Grubauer at 8:45 of the third and put the Road Warriors ahead. The Road Warriors had to kill off two penalties in the third to ensure the win, and Sauer pitched in five saves in the frame to make Boyd’s goal stand up.
The Road Warriors were 1-for-5 on the power play and 3-for-3 on the penalty kill. Sauer stopped 20 of 21 shots to earn his first win of the preseason.
Mark your calendars! The Road Warriors open the season at the BI-LO Center on October 14 at 7:35 p.m. against the Wheeling Nailers. Don’t miss a minute of action with the Road Warriors this season! 2011-12 season ticket packages and half-season ticket packages are on sale right now. Fans can call 864-674-PUCK (7825) to speak to a Road Warriors ticket representative. Season tickets start as low as $300 and can be reserved with a deposit of just $100.
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