ECHL Greenville Swamp Rabbits

Preview: True Blue Weekend Features Three Huge Games

Published on March 6, 2015 under ECHL (ECHL)
Greenville Swamp Rabbits News Release


Date Time Opponent Follow

Fri, Mar. 6th 7:00 p.m. ET vs. Florida Free Audio / ECHL.TV / Twitter

Sat, Mar. 7th

Sun, Mar. 8th 7:00 p.m. ET

3:00 p.m. ET vs. Florida

vs. South Carolina Free Audio / ECHL.TV / Twitter

Free Audio / ECHL.TV / Twitter

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TRUE BLUE WEEKEND: The Greenville Road Warriors (31-22-3), proud ECHL affiliate of the New York Rangers and the AHL's Hartford Wolf Pack, return to SANDLAPPER Securities Rink at the Bon Secours Wellness Arena tonight for "True Blue Weekend!" It all kicks off with a celebrity appearance this evening as the Warriors face off against the Florida Everblades at 7:00 p.m. Musical sensation, Delvin Choice, who finished in the Top 8 on Season 6 of NBC's "The Voice," will sing the National Anthem. In addition, 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. The popular Warrior Fun Pack is also available for this game and includes (4) red-level tickets, (4) hot dogs, (4) bags of chips, (4) fountain drinks and (2) Warriors drawstring bags for just $60!

On Saturday night, 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 this Sunday when the South Carolina Stingrays visit Greenville at 3:00 p.m. for the final time this season. 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!

THE STORY COMING IN: The Road Warriors have won three straight games and six of their last nine overall, boosting the club back into a playoff spot with just 16 games left in the regular season. The Warriors currently sit fourth in the East Division standings, just three points ahead of fifth-place Elmira. Last time out, Greenville notched a huge come-from-behind win on the road last Monday with four unanswered goals to defeat Wheeling, 4-2. After trailing 2-0 after the first period, Andrew Himelson scored twice to even the contest before Michael St. Croix tallied the game-winner with just 4:35 left. Domenic Alberga capped the scoring with an empty netter, while Braely Torris made 31 saves to earn the win between the pipes. Tonight, the Road Warriors seek their fourth straight win for the first time since Dec. 17th - Dec. 26th.

WARRIORS VS. EVERBLADES: Tonight's contest marks the fifth of nine meetings between the Warriors and Everblades this season, and the third at the Bon Secours Wellness Arena. Greenville will see a healthy dose of Florida over the next nine days as the two teams will meet five times during that span. In their last meeting, the 'Blades earned a 2-1 victory in Estero, Florida on Jan. 31st when Evan Bloodoff notched the game-winning goal with just 1:25 left in the third period. Florida leads the season-series 3-1-0, but Greenville continues to pace the all-time series 32-13-7. Kyle Jean leads the Road Warriors in scoring versus Florida with six points (2g, 4a) this season.

VIEW FROM FLORIDA: The Everblades enter tonight's contest following a 3-0 victory at home against Cincinnati on Wednesday, in which goaltender Andy Iles made 25 saves for his second shutout this season. The win was Florida's 34th of the season and pushed the second-place club to within four points of the top spot in the East Division. Offensively, Adam Brace leads the 'Blades with 48 points (23g, 25a), while Cameron Burt paces all ECHL defenseman with 34 assists. Burt is also third in scoring by a defenseman with 38 points this season. Evan Bloodoff leads Florida in scoring versus Greenville with six points this season (all goals). The 'Blades begin a three-game road trip tonight.

WARRIORS VS. STINGRAYS: Sunday's contest will mark the 14th and final meeting between the Road Warriors and Stingrays this season, and the eighth matchup at the Bon Secours Wellness Arena. South Carolina has been Greenville's kryptonite this season, as the 'Rays lead the season-series 9-4-0 and are unbeaten in regulation in 12 straight head-to-head contests (9-0-3) dating back to Oct. 30th. In their last meeting on Feb. 22nd, Lee Moffie broke a 2-2 deadlock and scored the game-winning goal with just 7:31 left in the third period as South Carolina topped Greenville 3-2 in North Charleston. That contest knotted the all-time series at 38-38.

VIEW FROM NORTH CHARLESTON: The Stingrays enter the weekend on a remarkable 13-game winning streak that began with a 7-1 victory at Greenville on Feb. 7th. The streak is tied for the longest in Stingrays' history and is the longest in the ECHL since the 2009-10 season, when South Carolina also won 13 straight. In addition, it is tied for the fifth longest streak in the ECHL's 27-year history with South Carolina (2009-10) and Las Vegas (2006-07). In their last contest, the Stingrays rebounded from a two-goal deficit in the third period to beat Florida 4-3 last Saturday. Forward Derek DeBlois supported the comeback effort with two points (1g, 1a), which helped earn him CCM/ECHL Rookie of the Month honors for February (10g, 11a, +19 in 13 games). Between the pipes, South Carolina's Jeff Jakaitis and Adam Morrison split Warrior Hockey/ECHL Goaltender of the Month honors for February. Jakaitis went 7-0-0 with a 2.14 goals against average (GAA) and .922 save percentage during the month, while Morrison was 6-0-0 with a 1.17 GAA, .953 save percentage and two shutouts. The Stingrays open a three-game weekend series tonight at Gwinnett.

SAPONARI SETS RECORD: In his first season with the Road Warriors, Vinny Saponari has already made his mark in the team's record book. Last week, the 25-year old extended his point/assist streak to a career-high nine games, which also set the Warriors' record for longest assist streak in its five-year history. In addition, Saponari's 38 assists this season are the fourth-most in a single season for the club. Jimmy Kilpatrick ('10-11) is the next to be overtaken for third (44 assists). Overall, Saponari has 19 points (5g, 14a) in his last nine games, which helped him earn runner-up honors for CCM/ECHL Player of the Month for February. He recorded his 100th pro point last Saturday in Wheeling.

COMEBACK KIDS: Greenville posted its league-best 16th come-from-behind victory of the season on Monday when the team battled back from a 2-0 deficit with four unanswered goals to top Wheeling. The win was also Greenville's league-leading seventh victory when trailing after two periods (7-18-2) - two more than the next best (Fort Wayne, Rapid City and Utah).

JACKSON'S RETURN: Fifth-year pro Dallas Jackson returns to the Road Warriors this weekend following a 43-game stint with AHL Hartford. During that span, the 25-year old notched 10 points (1g, 9a), 18 penalty minutes and a +4 rating. Jackson began the season with Greenville and produced a team-leading three assists in seven games before being called up to the Wolf Pack on Nov. 2nd. He signed an AHL contract with Hartford on Jan. 4th.

QUICK HITS: In addition to Vinny Saponari's nine-game point/assist streak, forward Chris McCarthy is on a four-game point/assist streak ...Rookie Domenic Alberga has goals in two straight games, while defenseman Sean Escobedo is on a three-game point/assist streak while playing on SANDLAPPER Securities Rink ... Greenville is 17-0-0 when leading after the second frame and 28-2-1 when scoring at least three times in a contest...The Road Warriors open their eighth "three-games-in-three-days" series tonight.

MILESTONES

- Sean Escobedo is two games away from 100 professional games played

- Bretton Cameron is three penalty minutes away from 500 professional penalty minutes

- Dallas Jackson is five points away from his 100th professional point

AFFILIATE REPORT

NHL: New York Rangers (39-17-7): Next at Chicago - Sunday, 7:30 p.m. ET

AHL: Hartford Wolf Pack (30-18-8): Next at Worcester - Tonight, 7:30 p.m. ET

EAST DIVISION STANDINGS

Reading Royals (37-14-4) = 78 points in 55 games

Florida Everblades (34-13-6) = 74 points in 53 games

South Carolina Stingrays (31-18-7) = 69 points in 56 games

Greenville Road Warriors (31-22-3) = 65 points in 56 games

Elmira Jackals (28-23-6) = 62 points in 57 games

Orlando Solar Bears (27-21-6) = 60 points in 54 games

Gwinnett Gladiators (17-33-5) = 39 points in 55 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.

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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