ECHL Greenville Swamp Rabbits

Road Warriors Baffle the 'Blades

Published on March 13, 2011 under ECHL (ECHL)
Greenville Swamp Rabbits News Release


ESTERO, FL - A record-setting five-point effort by Justin Bowers powered the Road Warriors' offense en route to a 6-3 win over the Florida Everblades on Sunday evening. The win improved Greenville's record to 38-21-4 on the season and whittled the magic number to clinch a playoff spot down to five points.

Greenville did not want to play catch up hockey for the entire game like it did the previous night and made sure that wouldn't be the case thanks to a huge offensive outburst in less than a two minute span. Chris Clackson tapped home a rebound at 9:14 with the Road Warriors on a power play to put the Road Warriors on the board first. The goal was Clackson's second of the weekend, extended his point streak to seven games, and was assisted by Wes Cunningham and Justin Bowers. Marc-Olivier Vallerand picked up his team-leading 24th goal at 10:55 as Brandon Wong fed him the puck in the high slot off of a faceoff win in Florida ice. Jimmy Kilpatrick then finished off the flurry at 11:13 by swatting home a rebound off of his own wrist shot. That goal chased Florida starter Bobby Goepfert in favor of Jaroslav Janus. Janus made his best save of the period on a Vallerand breakaway in the final seconds of the period. Brad Snetsinger, in his Everblades debut, beat Nic Riopel at 13:22 of the first to put Florida on the board and cut the Road Warriors' lead to two. Greenville endured a 1:37 5-on-3 penalty kill to keep that lead in tact heading into the second period.

The Road Warriors were able to put more distance between themselves and the Everblades thanks to a pair of goals in the second period. Brendan Connolly picked up his 10th point in his last six games by finishing off a 2-on-1 with Shane Harper at 8:53. Harper made a nifty move past a Florida defender to create the odd-man rush, then faked a shot to get Janus out of position and give Connolly a wide-open net to shoot for. Snetsinger potted his second of the game at 14:54 by beating Riopel with a slap shot from the slot, but 14 seconds later Cunningham scored on a shot from the point and re-upped Greenville's three-goal lead. Grant Farrell picked up his first point as a Road Warrior with one assist, and Bowers got the secondary. It was his fourth helper of the game and set a team record for assists in a game.

There would be no third period drama this night, despite the best efforts of the Everblades. Snetsinger finished off his hat trick with a power play goal at the 6:39 mark. Kyle Lawson, just down from Charlotte of the American Hockey League, fed Snetsinger in the slot and he was able to feed the puck past Riopel. The Everblades lacked discipline, though, as they battled to draw closer and the Road Warriors took advantage of the opportunity. A lengthy 5-on-3 power play allowed Bowers to cap his record-setting night with a goal for his fifth point at 12:03. Kilpatrick picked up a multi-point night (1G, 1A) by registering an assist on the goal, and Cunningham tied himself for the league lead in points by a defenseman with his third assist. Greenville survived a late power play by the Everblades to preserve the three-goal cushion and skate away with the win.

Riopel earned his 20th win of the season by turning in 23 saves. The Road Warriors were 2-for-5 on the power play and 4-for-5 on the penalty kill.

Mark your calendars! The Road Warriors will return to home ice at the BI-LO Center on Thursday, March 17 to battle the Cincinnati Cyclones at 7:05 p.m. Thursday's game will be the first of three-game stretch against the Cyclones. Come out and support the Road Warriors by sporting your green to celebrate St. Patrick's Day as the players will be wearing specialty green jerseys all weekend. The jerseys will be auctioned off immediately after Saturday's game. Thursday night's game is also Dollar Drink Night and will feature $1.00 Selected Draft Beers and Fountain Sodas. Tickets are still available and groups of 10 or more qualify for discounts off of the box office price, preferred seating based on availability, and other great benefits. Call 864-674-PUCK to speak to a Road Warriors group sales representative.

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ECHL Stories from March 13, 2011


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