ECHL Greenville Swamp Rabbits

Comeback Efforts Fall Short in 5-4 Loss to Florida

March 6, 2015 - ECHL (ECHL)
Greenville Swamp Rabbits News Release


Greenville, SC - The Greenville Road Warriors (31-23-3), proud ECHL affiliate of the New York Rangers and AHL's Hartford Wolf Pack, clawed back from three separate one-goal deficits on Friday, but ultimately fell to the Florida Everblades (35-13-6) in a 5-4 final at the Bon Secours Wellness Arena.

Vinny Saponari (1g, 2a), Chris McCarthy (1g, 1a) and Andrew Himelson (2a) each notched a multi-point effort, as Greenville allowed a season-high 50 shots in the contest. In addition, Saponari's two helpers extended his assist streak to a career-high 10 games, which also bettered his own franchise record. Saponari now has 22 points (6g, 16a) in his last 10 contests.

With the loss, Greenville's three-game winning streak came to an end, but the club held station in fourth place in the East Division standings, three points ahead of Elmira. The Road Warriors fell to 16-10-0 on SANDLAPPER Securities Rink and 1-4-0 against the Everblades this season.

Greenville came out firing in the early minutes of the first period with six shots to Florida's none, including Domenic Alberga's third goal in the last four games to give the Warriors a 1-0 lead. From the left wing, Saponari sent a wrist shot on net that was denied by goaltender Andy Iles, but the rebound popped right to Alberga who finished at the 2:11 mark.

Florida answered at 16:36 of the opening frame when Mike Little pounced on a loose puck and slid it past goaltender Jason Missiaen for his 10th goal of the season to even the game.

Brant Harris put the Everblades on top for the first time just 1:46 into the second period with a power-play goal and a second-chance effort from the doorstep. After Mitch Wahl smacked a one-timer on target from the left wing, Harris corralled the rebound in front and finished for his 14th goal of the season with Alberga in the box for tripping.

Outstanding goaltending by Missiaen prior to the mid-way mark helped created some energy and offense, which ultimately lead to another game-tying goal at 8:04 of the second period. Following several huge saves during a 5-on-3 Everblades' advantage, Saponari batted home a floating puck in front of the Florida net for his 17th goal of the season.

However, the pendulum continued to swing just 24 seconds later when former Road Warriors' forward Jason Wilson put Florida on top 3-2. In the neutral zone, McCarthy was stripped by Jordan Henry who led a 2-on-2 rush down the ice before he flipped a pass in front for Wilson's one-time redirection.

Bretton Cameron tied the game 3-3 at 14:41 of the second period when he hammered home a rebound chance for his third goal of the season. Scott Arnold created the rush on the left wing and fired a rocket from the left circle, which allowed Cameron to clean up the second chance from the back door.

The Everblades capped their three-goal second period with just 52 seconds remaining courtesy of Steven Whitney's third goal of the season. Bobby Preece slapped a one-timer from the blue line that was tipped by Whitney in the slot at the 19:52 mark to make it 4-3.

The Road Warriors fought hard in the final frame, but earned just one goal from Chris McCarthy on the power play. From the left half-wall, Saponari guided a shot on target that caught the right led pad of Iles, which allowed McCarthy to collect the loose puck and send a top-shelf backhand shot into the net. The goal came at 8:51 of the third period with Chris Kushneriuk in the box for elbowing.

Less than four minutes later, Henry scored the game-winning goal at 12:13 of the third period with his fifth tally of the season. During 4-on-4 play, Wahl found Adam Brace alone in the right circle, who delayed and slipped a pass to Henry at the back door for a slam dunk.

Greenville head coach Dean Stork emptied his net for the extra attacker with 47 seconds left in regulation, but the comeback bid fell short.

Both teams finished the game 1-for-3 on the power play, while Missiaen (12-11-2) made a season-high 45 saves in the loss. Iles (14-9-2) stopped 25 shots in the victory.

The contest also included one fight at 10:39 of the second period, when Emerson Clark got the best of Rob Florentino during his team-leading 13th tilt of the season.

Florida outshot Greenville 50-29.

Follow: Keep up with the Road Warriors all season long and interact with other fans on the Official Road Warriors Facebook, Twitter, Pintrest and Instagram pages.

Don't Miss Out! The Road Warriors continue "True Blue Weekend" tomorrow with a 7:00 p.m. rematch against the Everblades. The first 1,000 fans through the doors will receive a blue Warriors' mesh hat courtesy of FOX Carolina and WESC 92.5. In addition, fans will have the opportunity to meet ECHL Hall of Fame Inductee and Commissioner Emeritus, Patrick J. Kelly as well as get an up close look at the ECHL's championship trophy, the Kelly Cup! Fans can meet Mr. Kelly, get autographs and have their picture taken with one of the ECHL's true icons and the trophy named in his honor!

"True Blue Weekend" wraps up on Sunday, March 8th when the South Carolina Stingrays visit Greenville at 3:00 p.m. The Warrior Fun Pack will also be available for this matinee game and fans can take part in the final post-game skate with the team this season!

For tickets or more information, please call a Road Warriors Account Executive at 864-674-PUCK or visit GreenvilleRoadWarriors.com/tickets-overview.html ! Go to ECHL.TV to listen for free or watch the games live.

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