ECHL Greenville Swamp Rabbits

Road Warriors Weekly

Published on October 17, 2011 under ECHL (ECHL)
Greenville Swamp Rabbits News Release


GREENVILLE, SC - The Greenville Road Warriors were unable to earn a win last week in the opening weekend of the 2011-12 season against a pair of Atlantic Division opponents. This week they travel to Gwinnett, and renew the Battle of I-85, in search of their first win of the season.

Record: 0-2-0, 0 pts., 4th place South Division

Leaders:

Goals - Jeff Prough: 3

Assists - Wes Cunningham: 2

Points - Jeff Prough: 3

+/- - Francis Meilleur: +1

PIMs - T.J. Reynolds: 2

PPG - Jeff Prough: 1

SHG - None

Wins - None

GAA - Billy Sauer: 3.02

SVP - Billy Sauer: .880

Previewing the Upcoming Week:

10/21 & 10/22 at Gwinnett - 7:35 p.m. & 7:05 p.m., Home vs. GWT 0-0-0, Away vs. GWT 0-0-0

Last season the Road Warriors triumphed in the Battle of I-85 with a 10-7-0 record against Gwinnett. The Road Warriors and Gladiators renew acquaintances this weekend with a pair of games at the Arena at Gwinnett Center - two of 17 schedule meetings between the clubs this season. The Gladiators are coming off of a split in Florida to open their season. They won an 11-round shootout on Saturday night to grab their first win of the season after falling 3-2 in the season opener 24 hours earlier. For the first time in the eight-year history of the Gladiators Jeff Pyle won't be behind the bench. Rookie head coach John Wroblewski took over the reins after Pyle moved up to coach the Texas Stars of the AHL. Wroblewski came to Gwinnett after serving as the Wheeling Nailers' assistant coach last season. The Road Warriors were 4-4-0 in Gwinnett against the Gladiators last season with 21 goals against and 22 goals for.

Day-by-Day Schedule:

10/17/11 -

Practice at the BI-LO Center, 10:00 a.m.

Golf Outing with Jr. Road Warriors Youth Hockey, 1:00 p.m. at Willow Creek Golf Course

10/18/11 -

Practice at the BI-LO Center, 10:00 a.m.

10/19/11 -

Practice at the BI-LO Center, 10:00 a.m.

10/20/11 -

Practice at the BI-LO Center, 10:00 a.m.

10/21/11 -

Road Warriors at Gwinnett, 7:35 p.m.

10/22/11 -

Road Warriors at Gwinnett, 7:05 p.m.

Road Warriors Broadcast Information

All Greenville Road Warriors games are broadcast live online courtesy of America One. You can listen to every game for free by clicking on the "Listen Live" link located on the Road Warriors' home page - www.greenvilleroadwarriors.com. You can also visit www.americaone.com to find the Road Warriors internet TV broadcasts. The Road Warriors Pre-Game Show starts off every broadcast 15 minutes prior to faceoff.

Recapping Last Week:

10/14 vs. Wheeling: L 1-6

The Road Warriors' home opener got off to as good a start as the team could have hoped, but after the first few minutes things did not go Greenville's way. Jeff Prough scored Greenville's first goal of the season 47 seconds into the contest after a hooking penalty on Chris Barton had given the Road Warriors' the power play. Wheeling answered back with goals from Paul Crowder and Chris Minella in the first to take a 2-1 lead into the second. Matt Lombardi and Mikael Bedard put shots past Greenville goalie Jerry Kuhn in the second as Wheeling's lead swelled to three heading into the third. Greenville's offense never got on track to mount a comeback effort in the final 20 minutes and the Nailers tacked on insurance goals from Bedard and Nick Plastino to solidify the victory. Kuhn stopped 30 of 36 while sustaining his first loss of the season. Greenville was 4-for-4 on the penalty kill and 1-for-4 on the power play in the game.

10/15 vs. Reading: L 2-3

Jeff Prough continued his strong play to open the weekend as he notched both of Greenville's goals, but it wasn't enough to overcome a stellar performance in goal by Reading's Joe Palmer. The third-year pro turned away 42 of Greenville's 44 shots which was enough to help his team hang on for a 3-2 victory and hand Greenville its second straight loss. Former Road Warrior Matt Schepke and teammate Chad Painchaud scored first period goals for Reading which took the 2-0 lead into the second period. Prough's tally at 16:34 was the only goal of the frame and pulled Greenville back within one. A furious third-period rally saw Greenville launch 16 shots on goal, and limit Reading to just six. On a power play, though, Reading's Rob Kwiet stretched the lead to two at 3-1 at 2:06 of the third before Prough notched his third of the season at 8:26. Billy Sauer got the start against Reading and made 22 saves on the night. Greenville was unsuccessful in four power play chances that night and gave up one power play goal to Reading on five opportunities.

Quick Hits:

* Defenseman Wes Cunningham registered his 100th ECHL assist on Oct. 14 with the only helper on Jeff Prough's power play goal.

* After three goals in the opening weekend, Jeff Prough needs just nine more goals to reach 100 for his ECHL career. Prough's hometown is Dearborn Heights, Michigan but he was born in Snellville, Georgia. This weekend he'll be playing just 15 miles from where he was born when Greenville visits Gwinnett.

* The Road Warriors' attendance of 5,935 on opening night was the second-highest attendance total for a game in team history. The top attended game remains 6,388 vs. South Carolina on February 19, 2011.

* Greenville has never suffered a losing streak longer than three games in their history. Last season the Gwinnett Gladiators beat Greenville in three straight games from Jan. 6 to Jan. 8, 2011.

* Rookie defenseman Francis Meilleur registered his first professional point with an assist on Jeff Prough's second goal on Oct. 15 vs. Reading. Meilleur and Wes Cunningham are the only two Road Warriors defensemen to register points over opening weekend.

Upcoming Events:

Friday, Oct. 28:

Road Warriors vs. Florida Everblades, 7:35 p.m. - Spinx Family Four Pack Friday. $48 gets you four tickets, four hot dogs, four bags of chips, and four fountain drinks.

Saturday, Oct. 29:

Road Warriors vs. Florida Everblades, 7:05 p.m. - Trick or Treat with the Road Warriors. Bring the kids out for the Upstate's safest Trick-or-Treating on the BI-LO Center Concourse. Any child dressed in costume gets in free with a paying adult.

Thursday, Nov. 3:

Road Warriors vs. Toledo Walleye, 7:35 p.m. - Throwback Thursday Presented by WSSL 100.5, The Greenville News, and New Rock 93.3. Come out to enjoy $2 draught beers, $2 fountain drinks, $2 hot dogs, and $2 pretzels. Also, any college student with a valid ID gets in for just $6.

Friday, Nov. 4:

Road Warriors vs. Reading Royals, 7:35 p.m. - Faith and Family Night. Groups from churches in the Upstate can get group tickets for just $6, and there will be a free post-game concert from Pulse!

Saturday, Nov. 5:

Road Warriors vs. Florida Everblades, 7:05 p.m. - Country Night.

Check out the Greenville Swamp Rabbits Statistics

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