ROAD WARRIORS WEEKLY: 11/7 – 11/13/11 

BY: Ray Schmitt, Voice of the Greenville Road Warriors

GREENVILLE, SC –The Greenville Road Warriors played their first three-in-three of the season last weekend and came away with one victory. This week, they will try to gain ground on division-leading South Carolina as they host the Stingrays for a pair of games on Thursday and Saturday.

Record: 4-5-0, 8 pts., 4th place South Division

Leaders:
Goals – Jeff Prough: 8
Assists – Brendan Connolly: 7
Points – Jeff Prough: 13
+/- – Jeff Prough: +4
PIMs – Brendan Connolly: 30
PPG – Jeff Prough: 3
SHG – None
Wins – Nic Riopel: 4
GAA – Nic Riopel: 3.72
SVP – Nic Riopel: .883

Previewing the Upcoming Week:

11/10 & 11/12 vs. South Carolina – 7:35 p.m. & 7:05 p.m., Home vs. S.C. 0-0-0, Away vs. S.C. 0-0-0

Thursday night at the BI-LO Center kicks off the 2011-12 edition of the Palmetto State Rivalry between the Greenville Road Warriors and South Carolina Stingrays. Greenville finished the 2010-11 season with a 9-8-0 record against the Stingrays, but three of those wins came in overtime so the Stingrays, with an 8-6-3 record against the Road Warriors, had more standings points (19 to 18). The Stingrays enter the week in first place in the South with an 8-3-0 record and wins in seven of their last eight games. Greenville and South Carolina will play a total of 16 contests against one another this season with an even split of eight games each in Greenville and North Charleston. The Road Warriors were 5-3-0 against the Stingrays in eight home games during the 2011-12 season.

Day-by-Day Schedule:

11/7/11 – Practice at the BI-LO Center, 10:00 a.m.

                  “Between the Pipes” radio show at Ford’s Oyster House and Cajun Kitchen, 7:00 p.m.

11/8/11 – Practice at the BI-LO Center, 10:00 a.m.

11/9/11 – Practice at the BI-LO Center, 10:00 a.m.

11/10/11 – Pre-game Skate at the BI-LO Center, 10:00 a.m.

                 Road Warriors vs. South Carolina, 7:35 p.m.

11/11/11 – Practice at the BI-LO Center, 10:00 a.m.

11/12/11 – Pre-game Skate at the BI-LO Center, 10:00 a.m.

                 Road Warriors vs. Florida, 7:05 p.m.

11/13/11 – Off

                 * Rowdy goes shopping with Michelin employees at Sam’s Club from 7:00 to 8:00 p.m.

* Denotes an appearance that is not open to the general public. Media members, however, are welcome to attend these appearances to report on Road Warriors community involvement. Please contact Ray Schmitt at 864-293-2025 or ray.schmitt@greenvilleroadwarriors.com to coordinate covering Road Warriors community appearances.

Road Warriors Broadcast Information

All Greenville Road Warriors games are broadcast live online courtesy of America One. You can listen to every game for free by clicking on the “Listen Live” link located on the Road Warriors’ home page – www.greenvilleroadwarriors.com. You can also visit www.americaone.com to find the Road Warriors internet TV broadcasts. The Road Warriors Pre-Game Show starts off every broadcast 15 minutes prior to faceoff.

Recapping Last Week:

11/3 vs. Toledo: W 4-3 

Box Score

The Road Warriors welcomed Toledo, and former Greenville Grrrowl assistant coach and current Toledo head coach Nick Vitucci, to the BI-LO Center for the first time ever on Thursday night and picked up a 4-3 win to run their winning streak to four games. Toledo’s Evan Rankin deflected a shot past Nic Riopel for the only goal of the first period, but Jeff Prough pulled Greenville even with the only score of the second. A three-goal outburst in the third period by Greenville’s Brett Robinson, Cullen Eddy, and Marc-Olivier Vallerand provided just enough offense for the win. Toledo’s Gleason Fournier and Adam Estoclet registered third-period goals and kept the score close until the final horn.

11/4 vs. Reading: L 3-7

Box Score

A first-period power play goal by Jeff Prough raised hopes that Greenville would extend its winning streak to five games, but a five-goal second period by the Royals dashed those hopes. With the score tied at one, Reading’s Marvin Degon began the surge with a goal at 2:37 of the second. Rob Shearer, Denny Urban, Ryan Cruthers, and Olivier Labelle followed in succession in a span of 9:57 and left the Road Warriors in a big hole. Jason Missiaen got into his first pro game as he replaced starter Nic Riopel in goal after Cruthers’ goal and worked the final 25 minutes. Greenville mounted a third-period comeback effort with goals by Prough and Justin Bowers, but less than a minute after climbing within three goals, Reading’s Chad Painchaud finished off a two-on-one rush with Cruthers to set the final score.

11/5 vs. Florida: L 2-5

Box Score

Jason Missiaen made his first professional start on Saturday night, but the Florida Everblades scored five times in their final game of a nine-game road trip and beat Greenville for the first time this season. After Chris Murray put Florida up 1-0 with an early power play goal, Max Campbell notched his first professional goal with 20 seconds left in the first to tie the score. Florida, though, opened the second with goals 2:39 apart by Mathieu Roy and Robby Dee which put the game out of reach. Jeff Prough picked up his fourth goal of the weekend midway through the second to pull the Road Warriors within one, but they wouldn’t get any closer. Murray potted a second power play goal early in the third and Ryan Donald finished off the scoring with an empty-net marker.

Quick Hits:

* Starting this Thursday, the Road Warriors play six consecutive games against South Division opponents. Four are against South Carolina (3 home, 1 away) and two are against Florida (both away). After visiting South Carolina on November 27, the Road Warriors embark on a four-game North Division road trip.

* Jeff Prough earned an ECHL Player of the Week nomination after posting six points (4G, 2A) in three games last week. His eight total goals rank second in the ECHL behind only Eric Lampe of Las Vegas (12). Prough needs just four more goals to reach 100 for his ECHL career.

* Road Warriors defenseman Francis Meilleur is tied for fourth among ECHL rookie defensemen with four assists. Meilleur also currently leads Road Warriors defensemen in +/- at +3.

* Greenville is 3-2-0 on its current eight-game home stand. At the conclusion of the home stand on November 15, the Road Warriors will have played 28 percent (10 games of 36) of their home schedule for 2011-12.

* The Road Warriors have the second rated power play in the ECHL at 27 percent on the season. They have achieved that ranking despite having the second fewest power play opportunities in the league with 37. They are tied for third in the league with 10 power play goals on the season.

Upcoming Events:

Thursday, Nov. 10: Road Warriors vs. South Carolina Stingrays, 7:35 p.m. – Throwback Thursday Presented by WSSL 100.5, The Greenville News, and New Rock 93.3. Come out to enjoy $2 draught beers, $2 fountain drinks, $2 hot dogs, and $2 pretzels. Also, any college student with a valid ID gets in for just $6.

Saturday, Nov. 12: Road Warriors vs. South Carolina Stingrays, 7:05 p.m. – Military Appreciation Night.

Tuesday, Nov. 15: Road Warriors vs. South Carolina Stingrays, 7:35 p.m. – 2-fer Tuesday. Show your BI-LO BONUSCARD at the Breakaway Honda Box Office at the BI-LO Center and get a ticket FREE with the purchase of an equal value ticket.

Thursday, Dec. 8: Road Warriors vs. Gwinnett Gladiators, 7:35 p.m. – Throwback Thursday Presented by WSSL 100.5, The Greenville News, and New Rock 93.3. Come out to enjoy $2 draught beers, $2 fountain drinks, $2 hot dogs, and $2 pretzels. Also, any college student with a valid ID gets in for just $6.

Friday, Dec. 9: Road Warriors vs. South Carolina Stingrays, 7:35 p.m. – Spinx Family Four Pack. The Spinx Family Four Pack gets you four tickets, four hot dogs, four bags of chips, and four fountain drinks all for just $48!