WHEELING, WV – Facing elimination in their best-of-seven semi-final series against the Wheeling Nailers, The Greenville Road Warriors found their offense and came roaring back into the series with a 5-1 win.
It didn’t take Greenville long to score a goal in this game, in less than two minutes into the first period, Shane Harper connected off a Marc Andre Bourdon pass to give the Road Warriors the early lead. Then, with Wheeling’s Peter Merth in the penalty box, Brandon Wong found the back of the net on the power play at the 6:23 mark of the first period. Jimmy Kilpatrick and Justin Bowers were credited with assists on the goal that put Greenville ahead 2-0. The Road Warriors weren’t quite done, when Bowers was able to light the lamp at 10:04 of the first period. Prior to the end of the first frame, Wheeling was finally able to get on the score board with a goal from left-winger Mickael Bedard to bring the Nailers within two. The teams ended the first period with Greenville in front, 3-1.
The second period started much the same as the first. At the 5:57 mark of the period, Marc-Olivier Vallerand scored off a play setup by Bowers and Kilpatrick, which increased Greenville’s lead back to three goals. Greenville was then able to stick an exclamation mark on the game’s scoring when Harper was able to finish what he started by scoring off another pass from Bourdon, with Chris Clackson picking up the second assist on the play. The goal gave Greenville a 5-1 lead and also sealed the victory for the Road Warriors.
Greenville’s game five win forces the series back to the BI-LO Center ice for game six on Tuesday night. The Road Warriors still face elimination as Wheeling only needs one win to clinch the series, with Greenville needing two wins. The good thing for the Road Warriors is that if they win on Tuesday, the series stays in Greenville for game seven the following night.
Contact author at ryan.kouvolo@prohockeynews.com .
You must be logged in to post a comment.