ECHL Greenville Swamp Rabbits

Warriors Suffer 5-1 Setback to South Carolina

February 10, 2015 - ECHL (ECHL)
Greenville Swamp Rabbits News Release


Greenville, SC - The Greenville Road Warriors (25-19-3), proud ECHL affiliate of the New York Rangers and the AHL's Hartford Wolf Pack, could not find an answer for the South Carolina Stingrays on Tuesday and suffered a 5-1 setback at the Bon Secours Wellness Arena. Forward Josh Nicholls notched Greenville's only goal late in the third period, while Caleb Herbert scored twice for the Stingrays.

With the loss, the Road Warriors fell to 14-9-0 on SANDLAPPER Securities Rink and 4-6-1 against South Carolina this season. Stingrays' netminder Adam Morrison stopped 30 shots for his sixth victory against Greenville (6-1-1).

The 11th head-to-head meeting between the in-state rivals got off to a physical start when Sam Noreau and Tim Spencer got together and dropped the gloves just 1:44 into the first period. The tilt brought Greenville's crowd to its feet, but the energy was not enough to help the Road Warriors strike first.

Instead, South Carolina capitalized on its first power-play opportunity at 11:11 of the opening frame to grab a 1-0 advantage. With Vinny Saponari in the box for tripping, Frankie Simonelli collected the puck behind Greenville's cage and centered the puck to Derek DeBlois, who stopped it with his skate and pushed it past goaltender Jason Missiaen. It was DeBlois' 10th goal of the season and his fifth in the last two games.

The Stingrays extended their lead just two minutes later when Herbert ripped a forehand wrist shot from the hash marks over Missiaen's glove. It was Herbert's team-leading 13th goal of the season, which came at 13:11.

The only tally of the middle frame came at the 2:30 mark courtesy of Andrew Ammon's sixth goal of the season to make it 3-0 Stingrays. Spencer began the play with a crisp feed to Ammon in front, who quickly slipped a low shot between Missiaen's pads.

South Carolina extended its lead to 5-0 with a pair of goals from Braden Pimm and Herbert in the third period. At 8:45, Pimm corralled the puck on the right wing, skated through the circle and wristed a shot past Missiaen's glove for his 12th goal of the season.

At 10:35 of the final frame, the Road Warriors swapped Missiaen for newly-acquired netminder Braely Torris. Torris stopped three of the four shots he faced in his ECHL debut, but suffered a blemish at 15:27 when Herbert netted his second goal of the contest. From behind the net, Herbert converted a backhanded wraparound that bounced off of defenseman Andrew Himelson's skate and in.

Greenville avoided the shutout at 17:01 of the third period when Nicholls tipped home Mike Banwell's drive from the blue line for his 13th goal of the season.

The Road Warriors finished the game 0-for-2 on the power play and 3-for-4 on the penalty kill. Missiaen (9-9-2) made 22 saves in 50:35, but suffered the loss.

Greenville outshot South Carolina 31-30.

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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.

Stick It To Cancer: Join the Road Warriors this Friday, Feb. 13th as they battle the Evansville IceMen at 7:00 p.m. and help raise funds to fight cancer through "Stick it to Cancer," presented by the Bon Secours St. Francis Health System. Greenville will sport special edition "Stick it to Cancer" jerseys ( see design ), which will be auctioned off live following the game to benefit the American Cancer Society. The popular "Warrior Fun Pack" is also available and includes (4) red level tickets, (4) hot dogs, (4) bags of chips, (4) small fountain drinks and (2) Warriors drawstring bags for just $60!

Valentine's Day: Bring your sweetie out to the Road Warriors' game on Saturday, Feb. 14th at 3:00 p.m. with our Sweetheart Special! For just $15, fans can purchase two red level tickets and receive two drink vouchers upon entering the arena. In addition, the Warriors will offer all fans the opportunity to toast their valentine with a voucher for a complimentary beer or soft drink upon entry to the game.

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 for free or watch the games live.

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