ECHL Greenville Swamp Rabbits

Preview: Warriors Gear up for Huge Three-Game Weekend

January 2, 2015 - ECHL (ECHL)
Greenville Swamp Rabbits News Release


Date Time Opponent Follow

Fri, Jan. 2nd 7:00 p.m. ET vs. Florida Free Audio / ECHL.TV

Sat, Jan. 3rd

Sun. Jan. 4th 7:00 p.m. ET

3:00 p.m. ET vs. Florida

vs. Elmira Free Audio / ECHL.TV

Free Audio / ECHL.TV

PROMOTIONAL LINEUP: The Greenville Road Warriors (19-11-1), proud ECHL affiliate of the New York Rangers and the AHL's Hartford Wolf Pack, kick off the New Year with a huge three-game weekend series against a pair of East Division opponents. In addition to great hockey, fans can expect ton of fun with the promotions lined up for the weekend! "Warrior Fun Packs" are available on Friday and Sunday, featuring (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, the first 1,000 fans in attendance at the Bon Secours Wellness Arena will receive a FREE pair of Warriors texting gloves presented by FOX Carolina and My 102.5 FM. In addition, the Road Warriors will wear their fan-favorite New York Rangers-style jerseys for the first time this season on Sunday afternoon!

STORY COMING IN: Greenville enters the 2015 portion of its schedule looking to erase a two-game losing skid with its first matchup against the first-place Florida Everblades (22-4-1) this season. Overall, Greenville is 9-2-1 in its last 12 games, but back-to-back losses have pushed the squad six points behind Florida for the top spot in the East Division standings. Last time out, the Road Warriors could not solve goaltender Adam Morrison and the South Carolina Stingrays, and suffered a 5-0 defeat at the Bon Secours Wellness Arena on Tuesday. Greenville has not lost three consecutive games on SANDLAPPER Securities Rink this season.

THREE'S A CROWD: The Road Warriors play their third "three games in three days" series this weekend, and their first "3-in-3" at home this season. Greenville is 4-2-0 when playing on three consecutive days this season, but the team has not seen three games in three days since Nov 8th - Nov. 10th. Overall, the Road Warriors will play 11 "3-in-3's" this year. The club went 19-8-0 in those contests last season.

HOME SWEET HOME: After playing 20 of its first 28 games on the road, Greenville continues a mammoth 12-game home stand this weekend, which runs through Jan. 17th. The Warriors are 8-3-0 on SANDLAPPER Securities Rink so far this season, which marks the fourth-best record at home for any team in the league - trailing Florida (9-1-1), Allen (11-2-1) & Fort Wayne (10-3-1). Greenville has also outscored its opponents 35-27 at home this season and has won six of its last eight games at the Bon Secours Wellness Arena.

WARRIORS VS. EVERBLADES: Friday's contest marks the first of nine meetings this season between the top two teams in the East Division (four in Greenville, five in Fort Myers). Last season, the Warriors never lost in regulation to Florida, going 7-0-3 during the regular season and 4-0-1 in those contests at home. In addition, Greenville leads the all-time series 31-10-7.

VIEW FROM FLORIDA: Since the beginning of the season, the Everblades have consistently been one of the best teams in the ECHL and enter tonight's contest on a three-game winning streak. In addition, the Everblades have won 10 of their last 11 games and are just two points behind Fort Wayne for the top spot in the Eastern Conference. Last time out, Florida cooled off South Carolina with a 2-0 win in North Charleston on New Year's Eve, in which goaltender Andy Iles made 28 saves for his first shutout this season. Although the Everblades did not score a power-play goal in that game, Florida continues to lead the league on the man advantage with a success rate of 25.7%.

WARRIORS VS. JACKALS: Sunday's contest will mark the first of two meetings this season between the Road Warriors and Jackals (the second game will be played in NY). Last season, the Road Warriors went 2-1-0 against the Jackals and a perfect 2-0-0 in those contests at home. Elmira leads the all-time series 7-4-0 in 11 regular-season meetings.

VIEW FROM ELMIRA: The Jackals (16-12-3) will complete a five-game road trip and a three-game weekend series on Sunday with their first trip to the Bon Secours Wellness Arena this season. Overall, Elmira enters the weekend with losses in three of its last four games, which has dropped the team to fifth in the East Division one point behind Reading. However, the Jackals' offense ignited for four goals in the third period on New Year's Eve en route to a 4-0 victory over Reading. Elmira is led by forward Matt Tassone with a team-high 13 goals and 23 points.

SAPONARI'S SUCCESS: Forward Vinny Saponari continues to impress in his first season with the Warriors, leading the club in both points (23) and assists (15), and moving up to third on the squad with a +12 rating. In fact, the 24-year old has earned at least one point in eight of his last 10 games (2g, 13a) and leads the team with six multi-point contests overall this season.

KEEPING PERFECT: The Road Warriors are 10-0-0 when leading after one period, 12-0-0 when leading after two periods and 16-0-0 when scoring at least three goals in a contest. Greenville is also a perfect 6-0-0 when the same goaltender plays back-to-back days.

QUICK HITS: Greenville has held its opponents to two goals or less in eight of its last 11 games and is tied with Ontario for third in the league in goals against per game (2.61/game).... The Road Warriors' penalty kill is 21-for-24 (87.5%) over the last eight games and now ranks seventh in the league overall at 84.3% this season....Greenville has outscored its opponents 36-28 in the third period, including 19-12 in the final 10 minutes of play, and leads the league with five wins when trailing after two periods (5-9-0)....Goaltender Jeff Malcolm is fourth in the league in save percentage (.923) and fifth in goals against average (2.35).

WARRIORS SIGN BARTUS: The Road Warriors announced today the team has signed goaltender Garrett Bartus to a contract. The 25-year old began the season in the Southern Professional Hockey League (SPHL) with the Pensacola Ice Flyers, posting a record of 1-2-0 with a 3.02 goals against average (GAA) and .880 save percentage in just three games. He was also signed by Fort Wayne this season and played two games with the Komets. A native of St. Charles, Illinois, Bartus made 24 appearances with Evansville last season and went 8-9-6 with a 3.30 GAA and .902 save percentage. He also signed with the Road Warriors during the 2012-13 campaign, and made one appearance in the playoffs. The 6'2, 190-pound netminder spent four years at the University of Connecticut before turning pro.

MILESTONES

- Andrew Himelson is one game away from 50 ECHL games played

- Sam Noreau is three games away from 100 professional games played

INJURIES

- Scott Arnold is on the 21-day injured reserve as of 11/27

- Devon Krogh is on the 21-day injured reserve as of 11/1

AFFILIATE REPORT

NHL: New York Rangers (20-11-4): Next vs. Buffalo Sabres - Saturday, 7:00 p.m. ET

AHL: Hartford Wolf Pack (17-11-4): Next vs. St. John's IceCaps - Friday, 7:00 p.m. ET

EAST DIVISION STANDINGS

Florida Everblades (22-4-1) = 45 points in 27 games Greenville Road Warriors (19-11-1) = 39 points in 31 games South Carolina (16-11-5) = 37 points in 32 games Reading Royals (17-10-2) = 36 points in 29 games Elmira Jackals (16-12-3) = 35 points in 31 games Orlando Solar Bears (15-13-3) = 33 points in 31 games Gwinnett Gladiators (9-18-1) = 19 points in 28 games

Check out the Greenville Swamp Rabbits Statistics



ECHL Stories from January 2, 2015


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