ECHL Atlanta Gladiators

Gladiators Drop 3-2 Decision to Checkers

Published on January 30, 2009 under ECHL (ECHL)
Atlanta Gladiators News Release


Goals by Matt Siddall and Dirk Southern were not enough to beat the Charlotte Checkers as the Gladiators lost by the score of 4-3 on Friday night in front of 4,321 fans at the Arena at Gwinnett Center. The Gladiators came from behind twice, but were not able to do it a third and final time.

The two teams skated to what looked like a scoreless first period. With just seconds left, Charlotte center David Rutherford drove into the right wing corner and passed across the crease to Mike Bayrack who scored with :01 second left on the clock to make the score 1-0. Brad Ralph tallied the second assist on Rutherford's 12th goal of the season.

The Gladiators answered back :47 seconds into the second stanza on a goal by Matt Siddall, his 9th of the season. Jordan Fox dropped a pass from the right corner to Siddall, who fired a shot from the faceoff dot. Defenseman Brennan Turner picked up the other assist.

The visiting Checkers retook the lead 2:35 into the period. Mike Taylor and Chris Murray worked the give-and-go to perfection, and Taylor put the puck past netminder Josh Johnson to make the score 2-1.

Dan Sullivan and Cedrick Bernier dropped the gloves midway through the second. The fight, one of the longest of the year, saw a flurry of haymakers from both sides in the heavyweight bout.

The Gladiators again tied the game 8:53 into the final period. Pat Bateman skated the puck through the middle, and hit Dirk Southern flying down the right wing. The goal was Southern's 3rd of the season. Tom Zanoski tallied an assist.

Charlotte took the lead for good about 4 minutes later. A shot by David Rutherford hit the crossbar, bounced down, and then sneaked across the goal line for the game winning goal. Julien Brouillette and Brad Ralph assisted on the winner.

Both teams went 0-for-3 on the power play. Charlotte outshot the Gladiators by a 32-29 margin.

With the loss, Gwinnett falls to 18-19-0-4, missing out on the chance to go above .500 in over a month. Charlotte improves to 22-17-1-1.

The Gladiators return to action tomorrow night at 7:05 p.m. when the league leading Florida Everblades make another trip to Gwinnett.

Prior to the game, the Gladiators announced that they have acquired forward Tom Zanoski from the Dayton Bombers in exchange for future considerations.

The Brampton, Ontario native played in 3 games with the Stockton Thunder early in the season, where he tallied 1 assist and 6 penalty minutes. The Bombers claimed Zanoski off waivers October 31. In 3 games with Dayton, the forward scored 1 goal and 2 penalty minutes.

Prior to this season, Zanoski played 5 seasons in the OHL, skating with Owen Sound and Mississauga. He also played 3 seasons with Dalhousie University.

In his first professional season with Stockton, Zanoski saw time in 42 games, scoring 12 goals and 8 assists.

Zanoski tallied 1 assist and was a plus-1 in his first game with Gwinnett.

The Gladiators continue the 2008-09 season on the road Friday, January 23rd at 7:30 p.m. as they take on the Florida Everblades in Estero, Florida.

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ECHL Stories from January 30, 2009


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