ROAD WARRIORS WEEKLY RELEASE – 1/16 TO 1/22/12 

BY: Ray Schmitt, Voice of the Greenville Road Warriors

After taking two of three games from the Gwinnett Gladiators last week, the Road Warriors have another week chocked full of South Division opponents. With one game under their belt already, the Road Warriors are gearing up for three games in three days to close out the week.

Record: 21-15-2, 44 pts., 3rd place South Division

Leaders:
Goals – #Brendan Connolly/Marc-Olivier Vallerand: 20
Assists – Justin Bowers: 34
Points – #Brendan Connolly; Justin Bowers: 43; 42
+/- – #Brendan Connolly/T.J. Reynolds: +9
PIMs – T.J. Reynolds: 142
PPG – Jeff Prough/Marc-Olivier Vallerand: 7
SHG – Brendan Connolly/Marc-Olivier Vallerand/Jeremy Gouchie: 1
Wins – #Nic Riopel; Jason Missiaen: 11; 6
GAA – Bryan Hince: 1.49
SVP – Bryan Hince: .943

# = Not on active roster.

Previewing the Upcoming Week:

1/16 at Gwinnett – 12:30 p.m.; 1/121 & 1/22 vs. Gwinnett – 7:05 p.m. & 4:05 p.m., Home vs. GWT 3-0-0, Away vs. GWT 1-3-0

The Road Warriors began the week by dropping a one-goal decision to Gwinnett in a Monday afternoon matinee. They will get two more cracks at the division-leading Gladiators on Saturday and Sunday at the BI-LO Center. This season the Road Warriors have won three straight against the Gladiators at home and have not lost to Gwinnett in Greenville since January 14, 2011 (6-0-0). Ten of the Road Warriors’ final 34 games of the season will be played against Gwinnett with six games in Greenville and four in Gwinnett.

1/20 at South Carolina – 7:05 p.m., Home vs. S.C., 5-0-0, Away vs. S.C. 1-1-0

The Road Warriors will be in North Charleston on Friday night to take on the Stingrays in their first home game back after a seven-game northern road trip. The Stingrays return home as one of the hottest teams in the league having won six in a row after dropping their first game of the trip. The Road Warriors were the first team to win an away game in the Battle of the Palmetto State with their 4-3 overtime triumph on December 18. Friday’s game is the only meeting between Greenville and South Carolina in January and will be followed by one game (Feb. 7 at S.C.) in February before they meet seven times in the month of March.

Day-by-Day Schedule:

1/16/12 – Road Warriors at Gwinnett, 12:30 p.m.

1/17/12 – Off

1/18/12 – * Practice at The Pavilion, 8:30 a.m.

* Road Warriors and Rowdy visit Children’s Hospital, 2:30 p.m.

1/19/12 – * Practice at The Pavilion, 8:30 a.m.

1/20/12 – * Pre-game skate TBD

                Road Warriors at South Carolina, 7:05 p.m.

1/21/12 – * Pre-game skate at BI-LO Center, 10:00 a.m.

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

1/22/12 – Road Warriors vs. Gwinnett, 4:05 p.m.

* Denotes an appearance/event that is not open to the general public.

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. The Road Warriors Pre-Game Show kicks off every broadcast 15 minutes prior to faceoff.

Recapping Last Week:

1/12 vs. Gwinnett: W 4-2

Box Score

Connor Shields and Justin Bowers each set up a pair of goals, and Bryan Hince turned away 22 shots to help lead the Road Warriors to a two-goal win last Thursday. Marc-Olivier Vallerand and Max Campbell notched goals in the first period as Greenville grabbed a 2-0 lead, but the lead was wiped out in the second period with goals from Gwinnett’s Brad Miller and Pat Galivan. Brett Robinson broke the tie early in the third period with a power play goal, and Jeremy Gouchie added an empty netter for insurance.

1/13 vs. Gwinnett: W 3-1

Box Score

There was no bad luck dogging the Road Warriors on Friday the 13th as they came back from a 1-0 deficit to win their second straight over Gwinnett. After a scoreless first period, Gwinnett struck first late in the second for a 1-0 advantage. The lead only lasted for a minute and 22 seconds thanks to T.J. Reynolds netting his first goal of the season with 28 seconds left in the period. The third belonged to the Road Warriors as they received goals from Connor Shields and Brett Robinson to distance themselves from the Gladiators. Gwinnett managed seven shots in an effort to come back, but goalie Bryan Hince stymied them at every turn. Hince stopped 28 shots in all for his fourth straight win.

1/14 at Gwinnett: L 2-3

Box Score

Saturday’s game in Gwinnett gave the Road Warriors a couple of firsts that they weren’t happy to receive. It was the first game the Road Warriors lost this season when entering the third period with a lead, and also the first teddy bear toss game, home or away, they lost. Brett Robinson and Justin Bowers scored on the rush for the Road Warriors to give them leads at 1-0 and 2-1. That one-goal lead lasted until the third period when Gwinnett scored twice within the first 6:55 of the period to claim its first lead of the game. The Road Warriors had chances to tie it late with the goalie pulled and the Gladiators shorthanded, but the tying goal was not to be found.

Quick Hits:

* Marc-Olivier Vallerand has scored 14 goals in 19 games since Dec. 2, 2011, is tied for second in the league with 20 goals, and is tied for third with seven power play goals. He is the Road Warriors all-time leader with 48 goals scored.

* Greenville is 44-for-49 on the penalty kill (90%) in its last 10 games. The Road Warriors have held opponents without a power play goal in six of those games and given up more than one PPG in just one (6-for-8 on 1/6 at KAL).

* The Road Warriors are in the midst of a stretch where they play 13 straight games against South Division opponents. After four games of that span they are 2-2-0 with both wins coming at home and both losses on the road. For the season the Road Warriors are 11-3-0 at home against the South and 3-5-0 on the road.

* Greenville has out-scored opponents 43-33 in the third period this season. The +10 differential is fourth best in the league behind Alaska (+14), South Carolina (+12) and Gwinnett (+11). The 33 goals given up are sixth fewest in the league and the 43 goals scored are fifth most.

* Justin Bowers leads the ECHL in power play assists (17) and power play points (19). Forty five percent of his 42 points have been recorded on the power play. His assist on Brett Robinson’s power play goal on Jan. 14 at Gwinnett was his 100th in the ECHL.

Upcoming Events:

Saturday, Jan. 21: Road Warriors vs. Gwinnett Gladiators, 7:05 p.m. – Racing Night. It’s a motor sports celebration with authentic race cars from the Upstate on display at the arena, the Upstate Mustang Club parade at intermission, and race tickets to the Anderson Speedway being given away.

Sunday, Jan. 22: Road Warriors vs. Gwinnett Gladiators, 4:05 p.m. – Family Fun Day. All children 12 and under can get a ticket for just $5. Stick around after the game to Skate With the Road Warriors. Anyone with a ticket can attend the post-game skate and if you don’t have your own skates you can rent a pair for $3.