Weekly: Gladiators Play Final Two South Division Games This Weekend
March 31, 2014 - ECHL (ECHL)
Atlanta Gladiators News Release
DULUTH, Ga. - Following two contentious battles on last Friday and Saturday, the Gwinnett Gladiators (27-36-3-2) will take on the Greenville Road Warriors (38-23-2-3) for two more games this weekend - Friday at the Arena at Gwinnett Center and Saturday at the Bon Secours Wellness Arena in Greenville, SC. Saturday's game will also be the Gladiators' final game against a South Division rival, and their final road game, of 2013-14. Gwinnett will next play Elmira for the remaining two games on the season's schedule. The Gladiators have gone 20-26-2-0 against the South Division so far this year.
Looking Ahead
Monday, 3/31: Practice, Arena at Gwinnett Center, 9:30 A.M.
Tuesday, 4/1: Practice, Arena at Gwinnett Center, 10:30 A.M.
Wednesday, 4/2: Practice, Arena at Gwinnett Center, 10:30 A.M.
Thursday, 4/3: Practice, Arena at Gwinnett Center, 10:30 A.M.
Friday, 4/4: Practice, Arena at Gwinnett Center, 10:30 A.M.; Game vs. Greenville, 7:05 P.M.
Saturday, 4/5: Game @ Greenville, 7:00 P.M.
Sunday, 4/6: Off-day
Scouting the Opposition
- The Road Warriors had won three in a row entering last weekend's two game set with the Gladiators. After hanging on to win on Friday, Greenville's win streak was snapped at four following Gwinnett's powerful comeback Saturday. Greenville did finish the weekend with a W, however, as they defeated division-leading South Carolina in a tight 2-1 contest Sunday afternoon. Winners of 17 of their last 21 games and currently sitting in fifth place in the East with 81 points, the Road Warriors are within earshot of the fourth place Stingrays, who have 84. Whomever places in the top four get home-ice advantage in the first round of the playoffs.
Upcoming Promotions
Friday, April 4th vs. Greenville: Friendly Friday
- The Friendly Fridays package is available for Kids and Adults and includes the following:
- $20 Adult Ticket + One (1) Corner Level Ticket (section 115 only)+ One (1) Jumbo Hot Dog - OR - One (1) Pizza Slice + One (1) Regular Soda
- $15 Kids Ticket + One (1) Corner Level Ticket (section 115 only) + One (1) Kids Meal (Chicken Bites & Fries - OR - Hot Dog & Fries) + One (1) Kids Soda
Looking Back
Friday, March 28: Gwinnett 3 @ Greenville 4 - L
Down 2-0 after two periods, the Gladiators needed a resurgent final 20 minutes just to stay alive against the Road Warriors. Gwinnett certainly met that task and more, but it wasn't enough as they dropped a thrilling 4-3 loss to Greenville at the Bon Secours Wellness Arena Friday night. The third period featured a frantic two minutes were both sides traded off two goals each, with Dirk Southern and Brenden Walker scoring for the Gladiators.
A late interference penalty by Emerson Clark at 19:01 set the table for a 6-on-4 opportunity after Mark Guggenberger was pulled from the net. With the pressure on, Chris Culligan scored Gwinnett's third goal of the period at 19:31 to make it 4-3, but it wasn't enough as the Road Warriors held on for the final 29 seconds.
Saturday, March 29: Greenville 4 @ Gwinnett 6 - W
The Road Warriors set the tempo early with a staggering amount of firepower, striking three times on their first three shots, all within just over two-and-a-half minutes to start the game. From there, it was all Gladiators as the team scored six unanswered goals over the next two periods, starting with Maxime Legault's tip-in goal less than 90 seconds after Greenville's third strike.
In the second period, Jonathan Narbonne scored his first goal since the first game of the season on October 18th, while Mike Merrifield scored the game-tying and go-ahead goals, both as clean breakaways. Midway through the third, Dirk Southern added in his second goal of the weekend as the eventual game-winning goal, and Legault gave the Gladiators a cushion with his second goal of the night. It was the first time Gwinnett had scored six goals in a contest since February 7th against Florida, which was also the last time the team trailed by three goals and won.
Glads Notes
The Guggenburglar Strikes Again: As the Gladiators' 12th goaltender of the season, Mark Guggenberger has provided some much needed stability in net for Gwinnett. Since joining the team, Guggenberger has a 8-5 record, a .911 save percentage, and a 2.84 GAA. On the season, he has a record of 13-5, and as a professional, he is 68-34-9.
Georgia's On His Mind: In his ten games played with Gwinnett, Alpharetta native Will MacDonald has three goals and five assists. He is currently in his rookie season as a professional after attending Princeton University.
Streaking Glads: Coyotes prospect Brendan Walker has at least a goal in five of his last seven games, with six goals, two assists, and a +7 rating over that stretch ... In his last seven games, alternate captain Dirk Southern has four goals and five assists ... Marshall Everson has two goals and two assists in his last four games, as he's taken over the team lead in goals, with 19 ... Defenseman Daniel Spivak has finished a game with a minus in only 13 of his 63 games played this season, and hasn't gone below a minus-one. He leads Gwinnett with a +17 on the season. He has also had a point in three of his last five games.
Milestones: Marshall Everson played in his 50th professional match last night in Greenville ... Eric Springer played in his 75th professional game on Friday ... Dirk Southern is two games away from his 245th ECHL contest, and one away from 375 as a professional ... Casey Pierro-Zabotel is two games away from his 100th as a Gladiators ... Maxime Legault picked up his 45th professional goal and his 50th professional assist Saturday night. He's five points away from 100 as a pro ... Chris Culligan scored his first professional goal in his ECHL debut on Friday ... Joey Haddad is six games away from 300 as a professional, and three assists from his 100th professional assist ... Mark Guggenberger played in his 115th professional game on Saturday.
Snippets: With four games left in the season, the Gladiators are 13-16-3-0 in their last 32 games compared to 14-20-0-2 in the first 36. And after going 10-18-0-2 in 2013, the Gladiators have been hovering around .500, going 17-18-3-0 since January 2nd ... The Gladiators special teams snapped an 0-for-33 power play goal drought Friday night, thanks to Chris Culligan's 6-on-4 goal late in the third period. Gwinnett scored another power play goal the next night, making themselves two for their last three on the man advantage.
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