ROAD WARRIORS CRUSH ‘RAYS 

VERSUS    

GREENVILLE, SC – Before 5,159 fans, the largest crowd of their inaugural season, the Greenville Road Warriors defeated the South Carolina Stingrays 5-1 on Monday night. The win improved Greenville’s record to 21-6-2 on the season.

After a week-long break for Christmas the Road Warriors took the first period to get their game legs back underneath them. They were able to grab the first power play of the game just 28 seconds in when Matt Scherer was whistled for tripping. A few shots on the early man advantage tested Stingrays’ goalie Todd Ford but the reigning ECHL Goalie of the Year was up to the task. In all, the Road Warriors managed eight shots in the first but couldn’t solve Ford. The same held true for the Stingrays who could not beat Greenville’s Dov Grumet-Morris on seven attempts in the opening frame.

Just like in the first, Greenville grabbed an early power play to start the second period. Pierre-Luc O’Brien caught Justin Bowers with a high stick and put Greenville back up a man for two minutes. That power play, just like the first, went by the wayside, but the Road Warriors used a surge of momentum from the power play to score the game’s first goal. After taking a pass in the right wing corner from Connor Shields, Brandon Wong spun his way to the front of the net and wristed a shot past Ford at 2:40 for a 1-0 Greenville lead. The goal was Wong’s eighth of the season. South Carolina surged from there and sailed 16 shots Grumet-Morris’ way the rest of the frame, but again was turned away at every attempt.

Grumet-Morris wouldn’t feel nearly as much pressure in the third as he did in the second. That was because Greenville limited South Carolina to six shots and scored four goals to build a big cushion. Chris McKelvie started the barrage with his first ECHL goal at 3:47 and Chris Chappell followed with his first goal of the season at 8:46. Frustration for South Carolina’s Ford boiled over at 11:37 when after a Road Warriors rush he hit Mark Voakes with a left cross and earned a roughing minor. Greenville’s Justin Bowers scored on the ensuing power play at 11:44 to stretch the lead to 4-1 with assists going to Voakes and Wes Cunningham. Nate Kiser tried to give his team some momentum by fighting T.J. Reynolds and the tactic seemed to work. On the faceoff after the fight Tommy Goebel scored for South Carolina to bring the visitors within three at 4-1. Greenville, though, answered right back with Chappell’s second of the night just 12 seconds after Goebel’s score. The last big action of the night was McKelvie dropping the mitts with Dustin Stevenson at 15:10, much to the delight of the home fans.

Grumet-Morris picked up his league-leading 13th win of the season with 28 saves. The Road Warriors went 1-for-4 on the power play and 2-for-2 on the penalty kill.

Tonight’s Box Score

Mark your calendars! The Road Warriors welcome 2011 with two home games during the first week of January. This Sunday, January 2 features a post-game skate with the Road Warriors following their game against Wheeling at 4:05. The skate is free with a ticket stub, and you can rent skates at the BI-LO Center for a nominal fee. Then on January 6 when Greenville faces off against Gwinnett it will be the return of Dollar Drink Thursdays. Select draught beers and fountain drinks will be on sale for just $1! If you have a group of 10 or more call the Road Warriors at 864-674-PUCK to find out how you can save on the box office price, earn preferred seating based on availability, and enjoy other benefits of a group outing. Luxury suite packages are also available.