ECHL Atlanta Gladiators

Gladiators Post 5-4 Win over Bombers

Published on March 21, 2009 under ECHL (ECHL)
Atlanta Gladiators News Release


Troy, OH - Scott Marchesi scored the overtime game winning goal with just 28 seconds left in the extra session to lift the Gwinnett Gladiators to a 5-4 overtime win over the Dayton Bombers on Saturday night at the Hobart Arena in Troy, Ohio. Gwinnett improves to 29-29-6 on the season with the overtime win.

Working on a power play, Marchesi ripped a slapshot from the left point throught traffic and past Shantz for the game winning goal. Adam Berti and Brandon Kaleniecki each had assists on the game winning power play goal for Gwinnett.

Gwinnett took an early 2-0 lead on the Bombers with a pair of goals just 1:40 apart. Andy Brandt found a loose puck off a rebound in the slot and beat Dayton netmidner David Schantz for his 10th goal of the season. J-C. Sawyer and Matt Siddall collected the assists on the goal scored two minutes into the first period.

Pat Bateman pushed the Gwinnett lead to 2-0 with his 22nd goal of the season on the power play. Southern had his second assists of the night as he helped cycle the puck deep in the Dayton zone on the man advantage before feeding Sawyer at the point. Sawyer ripped a slapshot at 3:40 of the first period that was deflected by Bateman past Shantz for the Gladiators second goal of the night.

Datyon got on the board at 10:28 of the first period. Matt Auffrey found a loose puck in a scramble in the slot and beat Gwinnett goaltender Joe Fallon for the goal. Les Reaney and Andrew Fournier had the assists on the marker for Dayton.

Dayton took a 3-2 lead on the Gladiators with a pair of goals in the second period just 44 seconds apart. Greg Labenski had the first goal picking up a rebound in the right wing circle and beat Fallon sliding across the crease for the goal. Nino Musitelli and Jared Lukin had the assists on the power play marker at 15:14 of the second period.

Jim Henkemeyer gave the Bombers the 3-2 lead at 15:58 of the third period beating Fallon from just inside the Gwinentt blue line with a slapshot over the netminder's shoulder. Reaney had his second assist of the game on the goal while Justin Chwedoruk also had a helper on the marker.

Bateman added his second goal of the game at 14:59 of the third period to tie the game at three. Parked along the goal line, Bateman found a rebound and beat Shantz for the marker. Kaleniecki had his first assist of the night on the goal for Gwinnett.

Berti notched his 11th goal of the season for Gwinnett shorthanded to give the Gladiators a 4-3 lead. Berti tapped the puck free at the Gwinnett blue line and raced in on Shantz on a breakway before beating the netminder at 16:23 of the third period for the goal.

Datyon came right back and tied the game at four on Auffrey's second tally of the night. Auffrey ripped a slapshot from the left wing circle past Fallon for the goal off a feed from Kelly Perrault. Fournier also had a helper on the power play goal for the Bombers at 17:16 of the third period.

Fallon finished with 18 saves for the Gladiators in the win. Gwinnett posted a pair of power play goals on 10 chances and also chipped in a shorthanded goal for the win. Dayton went 2-for-5 on the power play in the loss.

The Gladiators continue the 2008-09 season on Sunday, March 22nd as they travel to Troy, Ohio to take on the Dayton Bombers at 5:05 p.m. at the Hobart Arena. Catch all the play by play action on WDUN, News Talk 550.

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 23 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 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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ECHL Stories from March 21, 2009


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