Warriors Battle Back for 4-2 Win over Gwinnett
November 14, 2014 - ECHL (ECHL)
Greenville Swamp Rabbits News Release
Greenville, SC - For the second night in a row, the Greenville Road Warriors (8-4-0-0), proud ECHL affiliate of the New York Rangers and the AHL's Hartford Wolf Pack, battled back from a third-period deficit to defeat the Gwinnett Gladiators (5-5-0-0) in a 4-2 final at the Bon Secours Wellness Arena on Friday.
Jeff Malcolm (6-2-0-0) made 24 saves in net and earned his sixth win in his last seven starts. He also remained undefeated at SANDLAPPER Securities Rink this season (4-0-0-0).
Offensively, Chad Nehring (1g, 1a), Josh Nicholls (2a) and Bretton Cameron (2a) each recorded a multi-point night as Greenville notched its eighth win in the last 10 games.
The Gladiators grabbed the first lead of the game at 5:25 of the opening period with a power play goal from Casey Pierro-Zabotel. After Greg Carey forced his way to the net, Garry Nunn grabbed the puck from below the goal line and fed it back in front where it tipped the stick of Scott Arnold and came to Pierro-Zabotel. In a bang-bang play, the Gladiators' forward jammed it home for his fifth goal of the season.
Pierro-Zabotel extended the lead with another power play goal at 9:54 of the middle frame. With Tyler Brown in the box for boarding, Brenden Walker fired a shot from the top of the left circle that was deflected in front by Pierro-Zabotel for his team-leading sixth goal of the year.
The Road Warriors answered at 18:47 of the second when Josh Nicholls ripped a shot from the left circle that was knocked down by Gladiators' netminder Mark Guggenberger, but cleaned up by Nehring for his fifth goal of the season. Nicholls earned an assist on the tally and extended his point streak to four games.
Building momentum through the third period, Greenville evened the contest at the 6:20 mark with a power play goal from Ryan Hegarty. With Pierro-Zabotel in the box for cross checking, Hegarty set up camp at the top of the point and rifled a shot through traffic and past the glove of Guggenberger.
Just 28 seconds later, Sy Nutkevitch gave the Road Warriors their first lead of the game when he converted a 2-on-1 rush down the ice into his first goal of the season. From the neutral zone, Brown crossed the blue line on the left side and fed the puck to Nutkevitch at the hash marks for a quick wrister glove side.
Saponari completed the scoring with a power play goal at 18:36 of the third for the 4-2 final. From below the right circle, Saponari maneuvered around Guggenberger and tucked a backhand shot inside the near post for his third of the season with Bo Dolan in the box for delay of game.
The contest turned physical in the final minute of play as both teams combined for 22 penalty minutes following a scrum with just 35 seconds remaining.
The Road Warriors finished the game 2-for-8 on the power play and 1-for-3 on the penalty kill. Greenville is now 6-0-0 when scoring at least once on the power play.
The Road Warriors outshot Gwinnett for the second night in a row, 35-26. Guggenberger (3-4-0-0) made 31 saves and suffered the loss.
Greenville returns to action on Sunday afternoon for a 3:00 p.m. puck drop against South Carolina at the North Charleston Coliseum to begin a season-long, eight-game road trip. 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 ! Go to ECHL.TV to listen or watch the game live.
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