Vallerand, Greenville Defeat 'Blades 5-1

ESTERO, FL – Marc-Olivier Vallerand’s three points helped lead the Greenville Road Warriors to a 5-1 victory over the Florida Everblades Saturday night.

Greenville struck first on the power play at 5:43 into the first period. Jyri Niemi blistered a slap shot from the point past Everblades goaltender Rob Madore to give the Road Warriors a 1-0 lead.

The Everblades had a great opportunity to tie nearly 13 minutes into the period, as Brayden Irwin was awarded a penalty shot. Irwin appeared to have beaten netminder Scott Stajcer on a deke move, but Irwin’s backhand shot rang off the post.  Greenville took the 1-0 lead into the first break.

The Road Warriors added to their lead in early in the second. Brendan Connolly fired a shot wide that deflected off the end wall and back out in front. The puck found the stick of Jordie Johnston who immediately hurled a shot into the net to put the score at 2-0.

The Everblades got on the boards at 11:45 of the middle frame. Mike Ratchuk fired a slapshot that was stopped off the right pad Stajcer.  Matthew Pistilli grabbed the rebound and stuffed the puck past Stajcer for the goal to pull the Everblades within one.

The goal sparked the ‘Blades who continued to create chances for the remainder of the period. However, Florida’s momentum was taken away by Mike Marcou, who registered the third Greenville goal with just seven seconds remaining in the period. After a wild scramble in front, Marcou worked the puck around an outstretched Madore, and flipped the puck into the open net to give his team the 3-1 lead after 40 minutes played.

The Road Warriors continued to roll in the third, as Sean Berkstresser’s snapshot from the slot ripped past the glove of Madore to give the Road Warriors a three goal edge at 5:41 of the final stanza of regulation.

After assisting on two goals earlier in the nigh, Marc-Olivier Vallerand netted his 14th goal of the season with five minutes remaining to secure the 5-1 Greenville victory.

Scott Stajcer earns the win stopping 23 of 24 shots faced, while Madore takes the loss allowing five goals on 35 shots faced.

The two teams will meet again on Sunday at 5:00 p.m. at Germain Arena.

Ticket Information: The Capital Bank Box Office is open Monday thru Friday from 10 a.m. – 6 p.m. and on Saturdays from 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. Fans may also call Ticketmaster at 1-800-745-3000, or order online at www.ticketmaster.com

Partial-season packages are still available, and start as low as $150 and offer a flexible option for fans. Group discounts are also available, and can save fans up $8 off per ticket from the normal box office price. For more information on all available packages, call the Everblades office at 239-948-7825.