ECHL Greenville Swamp Rabbits

Nicholls Scores Twice in 5-2 Loss to South Carolina

Published on February 21, 2015 under ECHL (ECHL)
Greenville Swamp Rabbits News Release


North Charleston, SC - Josh Nicholls scored twice in the opening six minutes on Saturday, but the Greenville Road Warriors (28-20-3), proud ECHL affiliate of the New York Rangers and the AHL's Hartford Wolf Pack, surrounded five unanswered goals in a 5-2 setback against the South Carolina Stingrays at the North Charleston Coliseum.

The loss snapped Greenville's three-game win streak and dropped the club to 12-11-3 away from the Bon Secours Wellness Arena this season. In addition, it was the 11th consecutive head-to-head contest that the Stingrays have earned at least one point against the Warriors (8-0-3).

The Road Warriors opened the scoring just 98 seconds into the contest when Nicholls capitalized on an early breakaway created by Andrew Himelson. From his own zone, Himelson fed the puck to Nicholls at center ice, who turned on the jets and went forehand-to-backhand to beat goaltender Jeff Jakaitis for his 16th goal this season. Kyle Jean also notched a helper.

Nicholls added his second goal of the game at 5:41 of the first period with outstanding patience from the doorstep. On the right side, Nicholls gained the zone and deked a sliding defenseman in the circle before he quickly used the same forehand-to-backhand move to beat Jakaitis while camped out in front. Vinny Saponari earned the only assist and now has 11 points (3g, 8a) in his last four contests.

The Stingrays got one back at 7:17 of the opening frame when Jason Missiaen misplayed the puck behind his net, which led to an open-goal tally for Wayne Simpson. Missiaen escaped the front of his cage to stop the puck down low, but it hopped his stick and slid directly to Rob Bellamy, who centered it to Simpson for his 12th goal this season.

South Carolina stormed ahead in the middle frame courtesy of three even-strength goals, all assisted by former Road Warriors' forward Andrew Rowe. At the 3:52 mark, Rowe slipped the puck to Rob Ricci in front who jammed it home for his eighth goal of the season. Rowe again contributed at 9:19 of the second period when he sent a cross-ice pass to Derek DeBlois, who finished to give the Stingrays' their first lead of the night. Ricci buried his second goal of the period at the 16:26 mark for a 4-2 advantage.

The Stingrays had an opportunity to make it 5-2 at 8:35 of the third period when Sean Dolan drew a shorthanded penalty shot after he was hooked by Jean on a breakaway. Missiaen came up big however and kept it a two-goal contest.

Joe Devin capped the scoring at 15:14 of the final frame when he converted a 2-on-1 break. From the left side, Bellamy entered the zone and pushed the puck across to Devin at the doorstep. Missiaen denied the initial attempt, but the puck flipped into the air where Devin batted it home for the 5-2 final.

The contest included three fights: Bretton Cameron vs. Lee Moffie (19:03 of the first period), Sam Noreau vs. Michael Young (19:29 of the second period) and Michael St. Croix vs. Patrick Gaul (17:32 of the third period).

The Road Warriors finished the game 0-for-3 on the power play and 2-for-2 on the penalty kill. Missiaen (10-10-2) made 18 saves but suffered the loss, while Jakaitis (12-7-2) stopped 22 shots in the win.

Greenville outshot South Carolina 24-23.

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.

Next Homestand: The Road Warriors return to SANDLAPPER Securities Rink at the Bon Secours Wellness Arena for a three-game "True Blue Weekend" homestand March 6-8. It all kicks off on Friday, March 6th versus the Florida Everblades. The first 1,000 fans in attendance will receive a special edition Road Warriors' True Blue T-shirt presented by FOX Carolina and WSSL. In addition, the popular "Warrior Fun Pack" is available for Friday's game and includes (4) red level tickets, (4) hot dogs, (4) bags of chips, (4) small fountain drinks and (2) Warriors' drawstring bags for just $60!

On Saturday, March 7th, the Road Warriors will rematch against the Everblades and the first 1,000 fans in attendance will receive a blue Warriors' mesh hat courtesy of FOX Carolina and WESC 92.5.

True Blue Weekend wraps up on Sunday, March 8th when the South Carolina Stingrays visit Greenville. 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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ECHL Stories from February 21, 2015


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