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ECHL Greenville Swamp Rabbits

Royals Top Warriors 6-2 on Friday

November 28, 2014 - ECHL (ECHL)
Greenville Swamp Rabbits News Release


Reading, PA - Willie Coetzee recorded three points (1g, 2a) on Friday and lifted the Reading Royals (9-5-1-1) past the Greenville Road Warriors (10-9-0-0), proud ECHL affiliate of the New York Rangers and the AHL's Hartford Wolf Pack, 5-2, on Friday at Santander Arena.

The loss extends Greenville's losing skid to three games and drops the team to 6-8-0-0 on the road.

After a back-and-fourth start to the first 20 minutes, the Royals grabbed a 1-0 lead at 15:54 of the opening frame when Kevin Walrod scored his second goal of the season. From the right half-wall, Sean Wiles collected the puck and threw a centering feed to the crease where Walrod redirected it past goaltender Jason Missiaen.

Reading extended its lead just 2:21 into the second period courtesy of Olivier Labelle's fifth goal of the season. With icing waved off in the Greenville zone, Coetzee corralled the puck, skated behind the Road Warriors' net and fired a shot from the right side that was cleaned up by Labelle at the doorstep.

Nearly two minutes later, Greenville answered and cut its deficit to one when Shawn O'Donnell found Emerson Clark ahead at the blue line, who raced into the zone on the left side. Even with the last line of defense, Clark wristed a forehand shot from the hash marks to beat goaltender Connor Knapp for his sixth goal of the season at the 4:22 mark.

The Royals pulled away for good with two unanswered goals to take a 4-1 lead at the end of two periods. At 12:43, Pat Mullane scurried down the ice on a 2-on-1 break and found David Marshall on the right side, who went forehand-to-backhand around Missiaen for his seventh goal of the season. Coetzee added another tally as he jammed a shot home from the crease at the 18:02 mark for his first goal of the year.

A quick tally in the third gave the Road Warriors hope as Andrew Himelson made it 4-2 at the 3:31 mark with his first goal of the season. From the right circle, Vinny Saponari controlled the puck and sent a rising shot on target that was blocked to Himelson for a rebound goal.

However, Wiles shifted the momentum again and notched the final goal of the game at 7:30 of the third period.

Greenville went 0-for-1 on the power play and 4-for-4 on the penalty kill. Knapp (5-2-0) made 27 saves and earned the win, while Missiaen (2-4-0) stopped 34 shots and suffered his fourth straight loss.

The Royals outshot Greenville 39-29.

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.

Teddy Bear Toss ( VIDEO ): Friday, December 5th is the annual "Teddy Bear Toss" benefiting Toys for Tots! All fans are encouraged to bring a stuffed animal to the game to throw onto the ice after the Road Warriors score their first goal. All stuffed animals will be collected and donated to Toys for Tots. December 5th is also the Warriors annual "Sing for Santa" game Enjoy school choirs performing holiday favorites during the first intermission as the Road Warriors battle Orlando at 7:00 p.m. The popular Warrior Fun Pack is also available for the December 5th game. For just $60 fans can receive four (4) tickets, four (4) hot dogs, four (4) bags of chips, four (4) soft drinks and two (2) Warriors drawstring bags! Visit GreenvilleRoadWarriors.com for more information or to purchase the Warrior Fun Pack.

Greenville concludes a season-long, eight-game road trip tomorrow with a 7:05 p.m. EST rematch against the Reading Royals at the Santander Arena. Go to ECHL.TV to listen or watch the game live. The next home game is scheduled for Thursday, Dec. 4th against Orlando. For tickets or more information, please call a Road Warriors Account Executive at 864-674-PUCK or visit GreenvilleRoadWarriors.com/tickets-overview.html !

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