ECHL Greenville Swamp Rabbits

Preview: Playoff Position on the Line as Warriors Visit Elmira

Published on February 25, 2015 under ECHL (ECHL)
Greenville Swamp Rabbits News Release


Date Time Opponent Follow

Wed, Feb. 25 7:05 p.m. ET @ Elmira Free Audio / ECHL.TV / Twitter

THE STORY COMING IN: The Greenville Road Warriors (28-21-3) and Elmira Jackals (27-20-5) each enter tonight's game in the midst of a fierce battle for the final playoff spot in the East Division. Both teams have collected 59 points through 52 games, and are tied for the fourth place just four points behind South Carolina. In Greenville's last outing on Sunday, Michael St. Croix and Scott Arnold each scored, but it wasn't enough as the Road Warriors fell to the Stingrays 3-2 in North Charleston. Greenville has now dropped two consecutive games and six of its last seven contests on the road.

TRUE "ROAD" WARRIORS: Greenville continues its second-longest road trip of the season tonight with a stop in Elmira, New York. The current road swing consists of seven games in five cities and wraps up this Sunday in Wheeling, West Virginia. The Road Warriors are currently 12-12-3 away from the Bon Secours Wellness Arena and 1-2-0 on the trip so far. Greenville went 17-15-4 on the road last season.

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WARRIORS VS. JACKALS: Tonight's game marks the second of two meetings between the Warriors and Jackals this season, and the only contest in Elmira, New York. In their only other matchup on January 4th, Greenville edged Elmira in an eight-round shootout to earn a 3-2 victory at the Bon Secours Wellness Arena. Emerson Clark and former Road Warriors' forward Tyler Brown (currently on call-up with AHL Hartford) notched the goals in regulation for Greenville, while Garrett Bartus made 29 saves for the victory in net. Last season, the Road Warriors went 2-1-0 against the Jackals, but 0-1-0 in those contests at First Arena. Elmira leads the all-time series 7-4-1.

VIEW FROM ELMIRA: The Jackals are 6-2-1 in their last nine contests at home, but look to bounce back after a 5-2 loss to Indy last Saturday. That night, Ryan Rashid and Riley Wetmore each scored for Elmira, while Sam Marotta stopped 20 shots in net. Marotta leads all first-year goaltenders with a 2.55 goals against average (GAA), while teammate Travis Fullterton is eighth among active league netminders with a 2.57 GAA. Offensively, Steven Shamanski, Taylor Stefishen and Mike Seidel are all tied for the team-lead with 28 points. Shamanski is also tied for fourth among league-defenseman with 11 goals this season.

QUICK HITS: Josh Nicholls is on a three-game point streak (3g, 1a) since Feb. 15th and leads the club with 17 goals this season...Ryan Hegarty is tied for 16th among league defenseman with 28 points...The Warriors are 25-1-1 when scoring at least three goals and a perfect 15-0-0 when leading after two periods... Greenville is 16-15-3 against East Division teams and 12-5-0 against North Division opponents.

SAPONARI CONTINUES STREAK: Second-year pro Vinny Saponari continued his offensive success last week and extended his point streak to five games, which ties a career high and season high for the Road Warriors. Perhaps more impressive, the 25-year old now has 12 points during that span (3g, 9a) and has moved into a tie for 23rd in the league's scoring race with 47 points this season.

GRITTY FORWARD JOINS LINEUP: Greenville added size and toughness to its lineup this afternoon when the team signed 22-year old Domenic Alberga, a gritty center out of Ryerson University in Toronto. A native of Maple, Ontario, Alberga recorded 75 points (53g, 39a) in 82 games over two seasons at Ryerson. The rookie forward also spent four years in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) from 2009-2013.

NOT BACKING DOWN: Second-year pro and fan-favorite Emerson Clark recorded his 11th fight of the season last Sunday when he went toe-to-toe with Stingrays' forward Tim Spencer. With the tilt, Clark now leads the Warriors with 165 penalty minutes this season. Sam Noreau is second with 101 penalty minutes.

MILESTONES

- Vinny Saponari is six points from his 100th professional point

- Emerson Clark is four games from 100 professional games played

AFFILIATE REPORT

NHL: New York Rangers (37-16-6): Next vs. ARI - Thursday, 7:00 p.m. ET

AHL: Hartford Wolf Pack (30-17-7): Next @ MAN - Friday, 7:00 p.m. ET

EAST DIVISION STANDINGS

Reading Royals (35-14-3) = 73 points in 52 games

Florida Everblades (32-11-6) = 70 points in 49 games

South Carolina Stingrays (28-18-7) = 63 points in 53 games

Greenville Road Warriors (28-21-3) = 59 points in 52 games

Elmira Jackals (27-20-5) = 59 points in 52 games

Orlando Solar Bears (25-20-4) = 54 points in 49 games

Gwinnett Gladiators (16-32-4) = 36 points in 52 games

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 against the Florida Everblades at 7:00 p.m. The first 1,000 fans in attendance will receive a special edition Road Warriors True Blue T-shirt presented by FOX Carolina and Whistle 100. 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 at 7:00 p.m. and 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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ECHL Stories from February 25, 2015


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