Gladiators Revised Schedule Released; Home Opener October 18th
August 20, 2008 - ECHL (ECHL)
Atlanta Gladiators News Release
The Gwinnett Gladiators announced today that the ECHL has released the revised 2008-09 schedule. The revised schedule was created because of the loss of the Pensacola Ice Pilots from the ECHL.
The Gladiators home opener remains unchanged as Gwinnett will open their sixth season in the ECHL on Saturday, October 18th against the Mississippi Sea Wolves at the Arena at Gwinnett Center. The complete revised schedule follows this release.
Two of the Gladiators 36 home dates were altered due to the schedule changes. Gwinnett was originally slated to host South Carolina on Friday, February 13th but will now host Florida on Wednesday, January 14th at home. Gwinnett will now be on the road on Friday, February 13th at Augusta.
The second home date change sees the Gladiators flip-flop their final two regular season games of the 2008-09 season. Originally scheduled to visit Charlotte on Friday, April 3rd and host South Carolina on Saturday, April 4th, Gwinnett will now host South Carolina on Friday, April 3rd and visit Charlotte on Saturday, April 4th.
In addition to the two date changes, Gwinnett will see a different opponent than was originally scheduled on 16 of the remaining dates. The Dayton Bombers will still make their first trip to the Arena at Gwinnett Center for a pair of games on November 19th and 21st while Elmira will also be in town for a pair of games in December and Trenton remains on the schedule with a lone visit in March.
Gwinnett lost one weekend date and will now play 25 games during the 2008-09 season on either Friday, Saturday or Sunday. Gwinnett will still host four special holiday games this season.
The Gladiators will play on Monday, November 3rd, one day before the general presidential election on Tuesday, November 4th. For the fifth consecutive season, the Gladiators will play on Thanksgiving Day, November 27th while it will be the fourth season Gwinnett will play on MLK Day on Monday, January 19th. This season, Gwinnett will also play on the day after Christmas on Friday, December 26th.
The Gladiators saw numerous changes to the road portion of the 2008-09 schedule. With the loss of the Pensacola Ice Pilots, 13 road games were moved, including the final road game of the regular season. The Gladiators will still make a northern road trip in March visiting the Cincinnati Cyclones and the Dayton Bombers for a pair of games each.
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 August 20, 2008
- Aces add pair from Pensacola - Alaska Aces
- Ianiero and Balan return to the Condors lineup - Bakersfield Condors
- Gladiators Sign Defenseman Engel - Atlanta Gladiators
- Lynx Announce Revised 08-09 Schedule - Augusta Lynx
- Rays Shore Up Blue Line with Pair of Defensemen - South Carolina Stingrays
- Salmon Kings Sign Bowling Green Blueliner - Victoria Salmon Kings
- Gladiators Revised Schedule Released; Home Opener October 18th - Atlanta Gladiators
- Blades Re-Up with Herauf - Florida Everblades
- Checkers Announce 2009 Schedule - Charlotte Checkers
- Stingrays Announce Schedule Changes - South Carolina Stingrays
- Royals Join Forces With Clear Channel Communications To Launch New Radio Network - Reading Royals
- Checkers Sign McKee And Guerin - Charlotte Checkers
- Nailers And Clear Channel Extend Partnership - Wheeling Nailers
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