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ECHL Atlanta Gladiators

Gladiators Weekly Update

February 9, 2009 - ECHL (ECHL)
Atlanta Gladiators News Release


Back-to-Back: The Gladiators won consecutive games against the Charlotte Checkers for the first time this year with Thursday's 4-3 win over the Checkers followed by Saturday's 4-1 win over Charlotte. With the pair of wins over the Checkers, the Gladiators become the first team in the season series to win back-to-back games this year. Gwinnett is now 5-3-1 this season against the Checkers after the pair of wins this week.

Shorty: Jordan Fox notched his team leading 3rd shorthanded goal of the year for Gwinnett in Thursday's 4-3 win over the Charlotte Checkers. Fox's 3 shorthanded goals on the season shares 4th overall in the ECHL for most shorthanded goals on the season. Jason Elders holds the all time team record for most shorthanded goals in one season notching 6 during the 1999-2000 season with Mobile. Jeff Campbell holds the Gladiators record with 5 shorthanded goals scored during the 2005-06 season.

A lot of Rubber: Netminder Josh Johnson posted 34 saves for the Gladiators in Thursday's 4-3 win over the Charlotte Checkers. His 34 saves was the most for the netminder since being acquired by the Gladiators on November 13th from the South Carolina Stingrays. His season best and career best for most saves in a game is 44 posted while with South Carolina in a 3-2 overtime win against Florida on October 31st.

On the Power Play! The Gladiators scored three goals on the power play in a 4-3 win over the Charlotte Checkers on February 5th. It was the first time the Gladiators scored three power play goals in a game since posting 5 power play goals in a 9-2 win over the Mississippi Sea Wolves on December 6th. Gwinnett has now posted 3 or more power play goals in a game four times this season.

Special Teams: The Gladiators posted all four goals in a 4-3 win over the Charlotte Checkers on February 5th on special teams. Gwinnett notched 3 goals on the power play and added a shorthanded goal in the win.

One Goal Affair: The Gladiators skated in their 21st one goal game in a 4-3 win over the Charlotte Checkers on February 5th. For the Gladiators, it was their 11th one goal win of the season as Gwinnett is 11-6-4 this season in one goal games. The Gladiators first loss in a one goal game came against the Charlotte Checkers in a 1-0 loss on November 23rd. Gwinnett was 5-1-4 in their first 10 one-goal games.

Comeback! The Gladiators recorded their sixth 2-goal, come-from-behind victory of the season in a 4-3 win over the Charlotte Checkers on February 5th. Gwinnett trailed 2-0 early in the first and tied the game at 3-3 early in the third before posting the game winner halfway through the final period. Below are the Gladiators other 2-goal come-from-behind victories this season:

November 19: 4-2 win over Dayton

December 2: 3-2 win over South Carolina

December 14: 3-2 win over Mississippi

December 27: 3-2 win over Florida

January 9: 5-3 win over Charlotte

February 5: 4-3 win over Charlotte

Pink in the Rink: Saturday, Febraury 14th and Sunday, February 15th is the Gladiators 2nd Annual Pink in the Rink Weekend when the Gladiators host the South Carolina Stingrays and Charlotte Checkers at the Arena at Gwinnett Center. The Gladiators will be skating on Pink Ice for the pair of games over the weekend and will be wearing special Gwinnett County Relay for Life jerseys. Following Sunday's game, the Gladiators will hold their annual specialty jersey auction to raise money for local area charities. The specialty jersey auction is presented by Kroger.

Last Week's Games:

February 4th, Mississippi 5, Gwinnett 3 - L

February 5th, Gwinnett 4, Charlotte 3 - W

February 7th, Gwinnett 4, Charlotte 1 - W

This Week's Games:

February 10th @ Mississippi Sea Wolves, 8:05 p.m. - WDUN, News Talk 550 Mississippi leads the season series with a 7-5-0 record against Gwinnett after posting a 5-3 win over the Gladiators in the last meeting between the two teams. Gwinnett has outscored the Sea Wolves by a 43-42 margin through 12 games this season. Gwinnett currently sits three points ahead of the Sea Wolves in the South Division Standings heading into Tuesday's matchup.

February 14th vs. South Carolina Stingrays, 7:05 p.m. - WDUN, News Talk 550 Gwinnett has won the last four games in the season series against the Stingrays and has posted a 5-2-1 record against South Carolina this year. Jordan Fox leads the Gladiators in scoring against the Stingrays this season posting 2 goals and 6 assists for 8 points in 7 games this season.

February 15th vs. Charlotte Checkers, 4:05 p.m. - WDUN, News Talk 550 Gwinnett leads the season series with a 5-3-1 record after winning a pair of games over Charlotte last week. Gwinnett has not lost back-to-back games against Charlotte this season. Pat Bateman leads the Gladiators in scoring against Charlotte this season posting 5 goals and 7 assists for 12 points in 9 games.

Gwinnett returns to action on Tuesday, February 10th as they travel to Mississippi to take on the Sea Wolves at 8:05 p.m. at the Mississippi Coast Coliseum.

Began in 1988-89 with five teams playing in four states, the Premier 'AA' Hockey League has grown into a coast-to-coast league that will have 21 teams in 16 states and British Columbia playing 864 games from Oct. 17, 2008 to Apr. 4, 2009. Eighteen of the 23 teams have played at least five years in their current city.

The third-longest tenured professional hockey league behind only the National Hockey League and the American Hockey League, the ECHL averaged 4,174 per game last season, marking the fourth year in row and the 16th time in the last 18 years that the league has averaged over 4,000 fans. The league has drawn over four million fans each of the last five years and 11 times in the past 12 seasons.

The Gwinnett Gladiators open their sixth season as a proud member of the ECHL in October of 2008 - season ticket packages are on sale now. In addition, the Gladiators offer several unique multi-game ticket packages as well as discounted group rates, suite rentals, and birthday parties. For more information call 770-497-5100 or log on to gwinnettgladiators.com.

The Gladiators are the AA affiliate of the Atlanta Thrashers and the Chicago Blackhawks and play all home games at the spectacular 11,355-seat Arena at Gwinnett Center, located just off I-85 on Sugarloaf Parkway in Duluth, where parking is always free.

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