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ECHL Greenville Swamp Rabbits

Warriors Win Fourth Straight With 5-3 Victory Over Wheeling

December 20, 2014 - ECHL (ECHL)
Greenville Swamp Rabbits News Release


Wheeling, WV - Trevor Parkes and Andrew Himelson each scored twice on Saturday as the Greenville Road Warriors (18-9-1), proud ECHL affiliate of the New York Rangers and the AHL's Hartford Wolf Pack, earned a 5-3 victory over the Wheeling Nailers (12-12-0) at WesBanco Arena.

With the victory, the Road Warriors extended their win streak to four games for the third time this season. In addition, Greenville has collected points in nine straight games, dating back to Nov. 29th (8-0-1). That is the longest point streak since the team registered points in 10 straight games from Nov. 24, 2010 - Dec. 11, 2010.

Parkes notched four points (2g, 2a) for the second time in his career, while Himelson produced a career-high three points (2g, 1a) and two goals.

In net, Jason Missiaen (7-4-1) made 34 saves for his fourth straight victory, dating back to Dec. 16th. Missiaen is now 5-0-1 over his last six starts.

The Nailers struck first just 2:54 into the opening frame when Derek Army scored his first power play goal of the season. Following a bench minor to Greenville for too many men on the ice, Zach Torquato found David Gilbert on the left side, who hit Army at the back post to complete the tic-tac-toe play for a 1-0 lead.

Not to be denied, the Road Warriors answered just 42 seconds later when Parkes jammed home his sixth goal of the season at the 3:36 mark. Vinny Saponari, who sent the puck across the crease, and Andrew Himelson each earned a helper. Saponari now has points in nine of his last 11 games (5g, 11a) and leads the team with 19 points overall.

Greenville grabbed its first advantage just 15 seconds into the middle frame courtesy of Himelson's second goal of the season. From the slot, Himelson collected a drop-pass from Paul Rodrigues and buried it past the blocker of goaltender Franky Palazzese.

Wheeling evened the score at the 7:30 mark when Torquato hit Gilbert at the doorstep for a backhand flip past Missiaen.

Himelson continued his success and put Greenville back on top with his second goal of the period at 16:39. During a delayed penalty and a 6-on-5 attack, Josh Nicholls sent the puck to the top of the left circle where Himelson wound up and fired a one-timer past the blocker of Palazzese.

Just 1:10 later, Tyler Murovich knotted the game at 3-3 with a shorthanded goal at the 17:59 mark. With Tyler Fernandez in the box for high-sticking, Murovich corralled a Greenville turnover directly in front of the cage and beat Missiaen for his third goal of the season.

Greenville grabbed the lead for good with back-to-back goals with less than seven minutes to play in regulation. At the 13:19 mark, Parkes collected the puck in the neutral zone and gained the blue line on the right side before firing a shot on target that was tipped by defenseman Morgan Ellis and past Palazzese. Less than three minutes later, Nicholls capitalized on a similar play and beat Palazzese from the right wing at 16:05.

The Road Warriors finished the game 0-for-5 on the power play and 5-for-6 on the penalty kill. Palazzese (7-8-0) made 19 saves and suffered the loss.

Wheeling outshot Greenville 37-24.

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.

The Road Warriors return to SANDLAPPER Securities Rink at the Bon Secours Wellness Arena on Friday, Dec. 26th for a 7:00 p.m. face-off against the Gwinnett Gladiators. Dec. 26th is Greenville's "White Elephant Gift Exchange Night". Bring a wacky gift to the game, make sure to disguise it, and the gifts will be exchanged during the intermissions! The popular "Warrior Fun Pack" is also available for the December 26th game! The Warrior Fun Pack includes (4) Red Level tickets, (4) hot dogs, (4) bags of chips, (4) fountain drinks and (2) Warriors drawstring bags. Go to ECHL.TV to listen for free or watch the game live. 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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