GREENVILLE, SC – The Greenville Road Warriors completed their preseason schedule last week with a pair of wins over the South Carolina Stingrays. This week, Greenville will focus on preparing for opening weekend which includes a rematch with the Wheeling Nailers who knocked the Road Warriors out of the 2011 playoffs.
Preseason Record: 2-0-0
2010-11 Regular Season Record: 46-22-4, 96 pts., 1st place South Division
Preseason Leaders:
Goals – Justin Bowers, Peter Boyd, Brandon Wong, Brett Robinson: 1
Assists – Jeff Caister, Ryan Hayes, Francis Meilleur, Jeremy Gouchie: 1
Points – Eight Players: 1
+/- – Nine Players: +1
PIMs – Corey Toy: 10
PPG – Brett Robinson: 1
SHG – None
Wins – Billy Sauer, Jason Missiaen: 1
GAA – Jerry Kuhn: 0.00
SVP – Jerry Kuhn: 1.00
2010-11 Regular Season Leaders:
Goals – Marc-Olivier Vallerand: 28
Assists – Jimmy Kilpatrick: 44
Points – Jimmy Kilpatrick: 63
+/- – Brendan Connolly: +28
PIMs – T.J. Reynolds: 206
PPG – Jimmy Kilpatrick: 12
SHG – Marc-Olivier Vallerand: 4
Wins – Nic Riopel: 24
GAA – Dov Grumet-Morris: 2.32
SVP – Dov Grumet-Morris: .922
Previewing the Upcoming Week:
10/14 vs. Wheeling – 7:35 p.m., Home vs. WHL 0-0-0, Away vs. WHL 0-0-0
Friday night will give the Road Warriors a shot at a measure of redemption against the team that eliminated them from the 2011 Kelly Cup Playoffs. Wheeling won Game Seven of the Eastern Conference semifinal series in overtime at the BI-LO Center on April 27, 2011 after Brendan Connolly had scored with 23 seconds left in regulation to force overtime. It is the first of two meetings between Greenville and Wheeling this season with the Road Warriors scheduled to make a trip to WesBanco Arena on January 8, 2012. Last season, Wheeling was one of Greenville’s most common non-divisional opponents as they squared off six times. Seven players from last season’s playoff series skated with Wheeling during the preseason; Tim Crowder, Paul Crowder, Mikael Bedard, Peter Merth, Chris Kushneriuk, Patrick Killeen, and Kyle Bushee.
10/15 vs. Reading – 7:05 p.m., Home vs. REA 0-0-0, Away vs. REA 0-0-0
Greenville and Reading last met on March 24, 2011 at the BI-LO Center. Up for grabs that night was sole possession of first place in the Eastern Conference with only one week in the regular season left to play. Greenville triumphed that night and finished with two more victories, and three more points, than Reading to claim the top overall seed in the East. Saturday’s game is the first of six between the Road Warriors and Royals this season (four home, two away). At 8-6-3, Reading was one of just three teams outside of the South to have a winning record against South Division teams in 2010-11. Saturday will also be the first game for former Road Warriors forward Matt Schepke at the BI-LO Center against his former team. Schepke was traded to Trenton for Ryan Hayes over the summer, but was waived by the Titans and claimed by Reading.
Recapping the Preseason:
10/7 vs. S. Carolina: SOW 3-2
Greenville began its preseason slate by hosting their in-state rival, the South Carolina Stingrays at the BI-LO Center. The Road Warriors jumped out to a 1-0 lead 1:34 into the first period on a Justin Bowers goal, and then stretched the lead to 2-0 when Brandon Wong backhanded a rebound past South Carolina goalie Darren Machesney halfway through the second. The Stingrays stormed back with third-period tallies from Danick Paquette and Jerry Pollastrone to knot the score at two and force overtime. The Road Warriors survived a two-minute South Carolina power play, and a 5-0 shot disadvantage, in overtime to reach the shootout which would decide the winner. Bowers and Marc-Olivier Vallerand scored for Greenville while Jason Missiaen stopped all but one of the Stingrays’ shooters to earn the victory. Jerry Kuhn played the first half of the game in goal for Greenville and stopped each of the 13 shots he faced.
10/8 at S. Carolina: W 2-1
The Road Warriors found themselves in a hole early at the Carolina Ice Palace in North Charleston as they visited the Stingrays to finish off their preseason schedule. Billy Sauer started in goal for Greenville and went the distance, but he gave up a first-period tally to Maxime Lacroix who finished off an odd-man rush thanks to a pass from Matt Pope. That goal, which came at the 3:41 mark of the first, was the only one that Sauer would allow as he turned away each of the next 19 shots he faced. In the second, Brett Robinson slammed home a rebound for a power play goal and a 1-1 tie on the scoreboard. The winner came from Peter Boyd at 8:45 of the third period. His first score of the preseason was set up by fellow rookies, and former teammates with the Montreal Juniors, Jeremy Gouchie and Francis Meilleur.
Quick Hits:
* With two victories over South Carolina last week, Greenville improved to 3-0-0 all-time against the Stingrays in preseason action.
* Last season, the Road Warriors were just the second first-year team in the history of the ECHL to win the regular season conference title. The other team to accomplish the feat was San Diego in the 2003-04 season.
* Greenville lost its top two scorers from the 2010-11 season, Jimmy Kilpatrick – Norway (63 points) and Mark Voakes – Rochester/AHL (54 points). The Road Warriors return, however, the following five top scorers from last season; Marc-Olivier Vallerand (53 points), Justin Bowers (52 points), Brendan Connolly (50 points), Connor Shields (47 points), and Brandon Wong (46 points).
* Greenville was a combined 8-1-0 in 2010-11 against its opening weekend opponents for 2011-12. The Road Warriors were 6-0-0 against Wheeling and 2-1-0 against Reading. The Road Warriors also had the best home record in the Eastern Conference for the 2010-11 season with a 25-10-1 mark.
* The Road Warriors’ roster currently features 10 players who will be rookies in 2011-12. Last season the Road Warriors dressed five rookies for the first game and used 22 over the course of the entire season.
