Sports stats



ECHL Greenville Swamp Rabbits

Nicholls' Hat Trick Lifts Warriors to Overtime Win

January 17, 2015 - ECHL (ECHL)
Greenville Swamp Rabbits News Release


GREENVILLE, S.C. - Josh Nicholls completed his first professional hat trick with the overtime winner on Saturday to lead the Greenville Road Warriors (25-14-1), proud ECHL affiliate of the New York Rangers and the AHL's Hartford Wolf Pack, past the Toledo Walleye (24-5-5) in a 4-3 thriller in front of 4,592 fans at the Bon Secours Wellness Arena.

Toledo's Martin Frk also notched a three-goal performance, but Jason Missiaen (9-5-1) made 32 saves between the pipes for his ninth win of the season. With the victory, the Road Warriors improved to 8-1 when going beyond regulation this season and 14-6-0 on SANDLAPPER Securities Rink.

In addition, Greenville completed a three-game sweep of the Walleye this season and has now won each of the last six games in the series dating back to the 2013-14 campaign.

Top-notch goaltending from Missiaen and Toledo's Neil Conway was on display in the first 20 minutes as both teams traded 22 combined chances, including a penalty shot and two shorthanded breakaways for Emerson Clark, but the game remained scoreless after one.

The middle frame was a different story as the Road Warriors and Walleye combined for five goals, beginning with Frk's 12th of the season to give Toledo a 1-0 advantage. With Bretton Cameron in the box for roughing, Frk launched a slap shot from the blue line just 42 seconds into the period that Missiaen knocked down, but could not cover. The puck slid through the netminder's five-hole and crossed the goal line with just enough momentum for the power play tally early on.

Nicholls evened the game less than two minutes later when he pushed home a rebound from the doorstep for his ninth goal of the season. From the left point, Mike Banwell unleased a slap shot that was answered by Conway, but the second chance fell to Nicholls for the equalizer at 2:21.

The Road Warriors notched their first lead of the contest at 5:08 of the second period when Paul Rodrigues finished Kyle Jean's drive from the perimeter for his sixth goal of the season. Nicholls made it 3-1 with his second goal of the game on an even-strength breakaway at 7:17, in which the 22-year old went forehand-to-backhand to beat Conway from the doorstep.

The pendulum continued to swing late in the second period when Toledo cut the deficit to one at the 17:27 mark. Richard Nedomlel corralled the puck in the neutral zone and sent a pass ahead to Frk, who found himself on a breakaway and went forehand-to-backhand to beat Missiaen for his second goal of the game.

With less than five minutes to play in regulation, Frk continued his success against Greenville and evened the contest to complete the hat trick. From the top of the point, Shane Sims ripped a shot towards the goal that was knocked down in front, but Frk collected the loose puck and buried his 14th goal of the season and third of the game.

In overtime, Jean raced into the Toledo zone on the left wing and flipped a pass in front for Nicholls, who redirected the puck past Conway's glove for the game-winner and his third goal of the game.

The Road Warriors finished the game 0-for-3 on the power play and 4-for-5 on the penalty kill. Conway (4-0-3) stopped 31 shots in the loss.

Greenville and Toledo each produced 35 shots

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.

Greenville opens a four-game road trip next Friday with a 7:30 p.m. puck drop against the Orlando Solar Bears at the Amway Center in Orlando, Florida. Go to ECHL.TV to listen for free or watch the games live.

Check out the Greenville Swamp Rabbits Statistics



ECHL Stories from January 17, 2015


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

Other Recent Greenville Swamp Rabbits Stories



Sports Statistics from the Stats Crew
OurSports Central