ROAD WARRIORS ROLL INTO FIRST 

VERSUS     

BY: Ray Schmitt, Voice of the Greenville Road Warriors

The Greenville Road Warriors defeated the Gwinnett Gladiators 3-1 on Friday night at the BI-LO Center and moved into first place in the South Division. Greenville’s record improved to 21-13-2 with the victory.

Click here for tonight’s box score.

The Greenville Road Warriors didn’t come out of the gate quite the way they wanted on on Friday night and were out-shot by the Gladiators 6-1 over the first half of the period. Bryan Hince, who was making his second straight start, kept Gwinnett at bay while the Road Warriors sorted out the offense. After killing off a pair of Gwinnett power plays, the Road Warriors had their chance to go on the attack with three straight power plays. Eight shots came with help from those advantages, but Marc Chevrie kept Greenville off of the board with nine saves in the period.

Like they did for the entire first period, Hince and Chevrie controlled the play for most of the second period. The Road Warriors brought most of the pressure early on, but after Chevrie turned away numerous quality chances it was the Gladiators to climb on the board first. A pass from center by Paul Flache snuck Aaron Bendickson and Pat Galivan behind the Greenville defense on a 2-on-0 breakaway. Galivan hammered home a pass from Bendickson with 1:50 left in the first. The Road Warriors bounced back in fine fashion with T.J. Reynolds potting his first goal of the season with just under 28 seconds to play. His shot from the high slot was set up by Brett Robinson and Justin Bowers.

The Road Warriors didn’t take long to break the tie in the third. Just over three minutes in, Connor Shields raced up ice after taking a stretch pass from Jyri Niemi. Skating in alone on net, Shields deked to the back hand and beat Chevrie through the five-hole for his eighth goal of the season and a 2-1 Road Warriors lead. Greenville’s lead was in danger when Brett Robinson took a holding minor with 12:51 to play. But after a successful kill, Robinson joined the fray offensively, scored an insurance goal with 4:49 to play and extended his goal scoring streak to three games. The Gladiators pulled Chevrie while down two but could not find a way to beat Hince and climb any closer.

Hince won his fourth straight start by making 28 saves. The Road Warriors were 3-for-3 on the penalty kill and 0-for-5 on the power play.

Mark your calendars! The Road Warriors face off against the Gwinnett Gladiators on Saturday, January 21 at 7:05 p.m. at the BI-LO Center. Get your group of 10 or more together to come out and enjoy a night with the Road Warriors. Groups qualify for discounts off of the box office price and preferred seating based on availability. Also be sure to check out greenvilleroadwarriors.com/tickets/groups for information on birthday party packages and luxury suite rentals. Call 864-674-PUCK (7825) for more info or to book your group.