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ECHL Greenville Swamp Rabbits

Hegarty and Saponari Lead Road Warriors Past Gwinnett

February 15, 2015 - ECHL (ECHL)
Greenville Swamp Rabbits News Release


Duluth, GA - Ryan Hegarty earned a career-high four points, including his second consecutive two-goal game, and Vinny Saponari notched four assists to lead the Greenville Road Warriors (28-19-3), proud ECHL affiliate of the New York Rangers and the AHL's Hartford Wolf Pack, to a 5-2 victory over the Gwinnett Gladiators at the Arena at Gwinnett Center on Sunday.

Hegarty now has six points in the last two days (4g, 2a), while Saponari has produced 10 points (3g, 7a) in that span. Saponari celebrated his 25th birthday on Sunday as well.

With the victory, the Road Warriors improved to 12-10-3 on the road this season and snapped a four-game drought away from the Bon Secours Wellness Arena. The club also moved into sole possession of third place in the East Division (59 points).

The Gladiators blitzed Greenville in the opening minutes and recorded 11 of the first 12 shot attempts at even strength but could not convert. Instead, the Road Warriors capitalized on their first power play 8:03 of the opening frame. With Sean Berkstresser in the box for roughing, Saponari fired a shot from the right circle that created a rebound in the Gwinnet crease. Josh Nicholls knocked it home at the back door with his 15th goal of the season. It was also Greenville's fourth power-play goal in the last two games.

The second period saw just 14 shots combined, but featured five goals between the two teams. Gwinnett's Casey Pierro-Zabotel tied the game at the 5:07 mark when he redirected Garry Nunn's shot for his 20th goal this season. However, just 24 seconds later, Hegarty tallied his eighth goal of the season to make it 2-1. Directly off a draw in the Gladiator's zone, Andrew Himelson fired a blast towards the crease that was tipped by Hegarty at 5:31. It was an advantage Greenville would not surrender.

Hegarty extended the lead to a two-goal spread just two minutes later when he notched his fourth goal in the last two games. During a 2-on-1 rush, Saponari motored into the zone and fed the puck to Hegarty on the left side for a one-timer that beat goaltender Mark Guggenburger's glove at the 7:32 mark.

Greenville made it 4-1 at 9:48 of the second period when Kyle Jean wristed a low shot through Guggenburger's five-hole for his 13th goal of the season.

Pierro-Zabotel produced Gwinnett's final tally at 13:20 of the middle frame with his 21st goal of the season. From the right side of the doorstep, Pierro-Zabotel stopped the puck with his skate and immediately forehanded a shot over goaltender Jason Missiaen's glove.

Chris McCarthy capped the scoring at 12:29 of the third period when he finished a feed from Hegarty for his 11th goal this season.

The game included a thrilling fight at 15:12 of the first period when Emerson Clark popped Dyson Stevenson with a pair of stiff right fists to inspire Greenville's bench.

The Road Warriors finished the contest 2-for-6 on the power play and 2-for-3 on the penalty kill. Missiaen (10-9-2) made 24 saves and earned the win, while Guggenburger stopped 15 shots in the loss.

The Gladiators outshot Greenville 26-20. It matched the fewest shots in a game for the Road Warriors this season.

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.

The Road Warriors continue a seven-game road trip on Saturday with a 7:05 p.m. matchup against the South Carolina Stingrays at the North Charleston Coliseum. Go to ECHL.TV to listen for free or watch the games live.

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