ADMIRALS ORDER 2 POINTS, CHECKERS OBEY

VERSUS    

SAMSON’S OT GOAL ENDS SEESAW BATTLE
Matsumoto pots two goals as Checkers down Admirals, 7-6

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – AHL All-Star Jerome Samson’s goal, 1:11 into overtime, was the difference as the Charlotte Checkers beat the Norfolk Admirals, 7-6, at Time Warner Cable Arena Thursday evening.

ROAD WARRIORS STOMP EVERBLADES

VERSUS    

Greenville, SC – The Greenville Road Warriors halted their three game losing streak with a 4-1 win over the Florida Everblades on Thursday night at the BI-LO Center. The win improved Greenville’s record to 24-10-2.

GREENVILLE HOMESTAND STARTS WITH FLORIDA

GREENVILLE, SC -Tonight the Road Warriors open a five-game homestand, their second longest of the season, with a 7:05 p.m. contest at the BI-LO Center against the Florida Everblades.

TWO OUT OF THREE FOR ROAD WARRIORS

VERSUS

ESTERO, FL - The Greenville Road Warriors used a great special teams effort to take down the Florida Everblades by a 5-2 score at Germain Arena on Saturday night. The win improved the Road Warriors’ record to 18-5-2 on the season.

ROAD WARRIORS BLANK EVERBLADES

The Greenville Road Warriors completed a three-game sweep over the Florida Everblades on Saturday night with a 3-0 victory. The win was the Road Warriors sixth straight on home ice and improved their record to 7-3-1 on the season.

Greenville was out-shot 16-5 in the opening period thanks, in part, to three consecutive power plays for the Everblades. Nic Riopel turned aside each shot he faced and helped Greenville snag a 1-0 lead after the first frame. Brendan Connolly picked up his third goal of the weekend, and sixth of the season, when he slammed home a shorthanded tally at 9:37 of the first. Paul McIlveen earned the assist with a quick pass off the left wing wall.

In the second it was Connolly again with a marker that doubled up Greenville’s lead. He took a centering feed from Shane Harper at the front of the net and jammed a quick shot past Jaroslav Janus 49 seconds into the frame. Brandon Wong garnered the secondary helper giving him three points on the weekend with a goal and two assists. An issue with the ice brought the Zamboni back out immediately after Connolly’s goal and delayed the game by a few minutes. When play resumed Greenville went right back to work on the offensive and Mark Voakes slipped his fourth goal of the season in at the 3:35 mark. Marc-Olivier Vallerand made the feed off the right wing boards to the front of the net and Cullen Eddy had the secondary helper with a crisp pass through center. Riopel was much less busy in the second as he only faced three shots and denied each one.

In the third the Road Warriors saw Florida surge in an effort to draw closer and the Everblades sailed 13 shots Riopel’s way. None were high-quality chances, though, and Greenville’s rookie goalie stood tall in his crease. The pressure rose a bit when Sean Berkstresser was taken off for slashing eight minutes into the period, but Greenville was able to survive the power play. Florida then went very aggressive and pulled Janus with 1:49 left in the game to try to spark the offense. The spark never materialized, however, and Greenville had its first ever shutout.

Riopel made 32 saves and was awarded first star of the game honors for his efforts. Greenville was 0-for-4 on the power play and 5-for-5 on the penalty kill tonight.

Mark your calendars! The Road Warriors are back on home ice on November 18 to take on the Wheeling Nailers at 7:05 p.m. at the BI-LO Center. It will be the third Dollar Draught Night of the season with select fountain drinks and draught beers being sold for just $1. The Road Warriors will also be kicking off their Thanks for Giving weekend. Any fan who donates a winter coat to the Road Warriors coat drive to benefit the Salvation Army will receive a buy-one-get-one free coupon good for the December 14 home game. For more information contact the Road Warriors at 864-674-PUCK.

ROAD WARRIORS ROLLING ALONG

The Greenville Road Warriors used a four-goal first period to propel themselves past the visiting Florida Everblades at the BI-LO Center on Thursday night. The win was Greenville’s fourth straight at home and improved record to 5-3-1 on the season.

For the third straight game Greenville struck for the opening goal of the game as Julien Brouillette wristed a shot past Florida starter Jaroslav Janus at 7:34 of the first. It was Brouillette’s fifth goal of the season with assists going to Brendan Connolly and Connor Shields. The goal came with Marc-Olivier Vallerand in the penalty box and was Greenville’s first shorthanded goal of the season. As Vallerand exited the box he stole an errant Florida pass and raced in on a breakaway. He lifted a backhander past Janus just 26 seconds after Brouillette’s goal for a 2-0 Road Warriors lead. Greenville poured on the offense late in the first period with Shields netting his second of the season and Sean Berkstresser picking up his first. The goals came at 16:21 and 18:10 respectively. Paul McIlveen assisted on Berkstresser’s goal to pick up a point in his Road Warriors debut. Florida would not go quietly, though, and put its first goal on the board 24 seconds after Berkstresser’s goal when Mathieu Roy beat Nic Riopel with a slap shot from the blue line.

The second period began nearly exactly the same way the first ended. Thirty eight seconds into the frame Matthew Pistilli lifted a wrist shot towards the goal from just outside Greenville’s blue line. The shot sailed over Riopel’s shoulder and just under the crossbar to make it a 4-2 score. Both teams settled into the flow of the game and neither could score for nearly 11 minutes. Greenville, though, responded to Florida’s tally when Shane Harper picked up his second goal in as many nights. After taking a pass from Vallerand behind the net Harper stepped out to the right of Bobby Goepfert, who replaced Janus at the start of the second, and slipped a shot through to restore Greenville’s three-goal lead at 11:28.

The third period belonged to the Everblades as they nearly came back from a three-goal third period deficit for the second straight night. Riopel was knocked down amid a pile-up at the side of his cage in the early moments of the third. After recuperating the rookie goalie remained in the game, but was under siege by the Florida attack. Alex Imbeault netted his first of the game at 3:06 of the third and then set up Mitch Fadden at 6:17 as Florida pulled within a goal. The Everblades continued to press; eventually out-shooting the Road Warriors 13-3 in the period, but Greenville’s defense held the fort and pulled out the win.

Riopel made 31 saves in picking up his fifth win of the season while Greenville went 0-for-4 on the power play and 5-for-5 on the penalty kill.

Please click here for tonight’s box score.

The Road Warriors return to home ice tomorrow night to take on the Florida Everblades at 7:05 p.m. ET. The Road Warriors will be honoring military heroes by offering free tickets to the game. Any active military members or military veterans can pick up one free ticket by presenting military identification at the BI-LO Center Box Office. The Road Warriors will also be offering their Friday Family Four-Pack which features four gold-level ticket, four hot dogs, four sodas, four pretzels, and four bags for chips for just $48! For more information on the promotions call the Road Warriors at 864-674-PUCK.

GREENVILLE AND FLORIDA PREVIEW

The Greenville Road Warriors continue their six-game season opening home stand tonight against the Florida Everblades. After picking up a 4-1 win last night, Greenville will try to complete a two-game sweep of the Everblades this evening.

About Last Night:

The Road Warriors used a dominant third period effort to turn a close game into a comfortable win. When Florida starter Bobby Geopfert went down with an upper-body injury with 15:16 left to play and the game tied at one Greenville went on the attack. Replacement goalie Jaroslav Janus was beaten by Julien Brouillette, Brendan Connolly, and Matt Schepke (second of the night) in a span of 4:07. Schepke scored the first goal in Road Warriors history at 19:23 of the first by finishing off a 2-on-1 with Chris Chappell, while Nic Riopel picked up his first ECHL win by turning in 26 saves. Alex Imbeault had the lone goal for the Everblades.

So far neither team has been able to win a game in the other’s building. Greenville dropped a pair of preseason games at Germain Arena on October 8 and 9 while Florida continued the trend by dropping last night’s contest. If Matt Schepke keeps up his habits against Florida the odds could be squarely in the Road Warriors’ favor. Including the preseason, the second-year winger from Michigan State has four goals in two games played against Florida.

With tonight being the second game in as many nights between the clubs, it will be interesting to see if tempers flare up. Greenville and Florida wasted no time in building up hostilities with a pair of fights in last night’s game. Igor Gongalsky squared off with Mitch McColm just over halfway through the first period and then Blake Parlett, making his pro debut, dropped the mitts with Trevor Hendrikx.

In winning his pro head coaching debut last night, Greenville’s Dean Stork joined the Idaho Steelheads‘ Hardy Sauter as rookie head coaches in the ECHL to win their first game this season.

Please click here for game notes pg. 1.

Please click here for game notes pg. 2.

Please click here for Greenville Player information.

Please click here for Florida Player information.

The Road Warriors return to action on home ice this Sunday, October 24 against the South Carolina Stingrays at 4:05 pm ET. Great seats are available, including group seating. If you have a group of 10 or more you can save on your tickets, receive preferred seating based on availability, and enjoy other great benefits. Contact a Road Warriors group sales representative today by calling 864-674-PUCK. For more information on everything Road Warriors visit www.greenvilleroadwarriors.com.