Gladiators Weekly Update
March 15, 2010 - ECHL (ECHL)
Atlanta Gladiators News Release
Streaker: Forward Tim Miller extended his career-best point streak to 10 with a goal and 4 assists last week. He now has four goals and nine assists in the past 10 contests, dating back to a February 24th overtime loss to Kalamazoo.
Home Sweet Home: The Gladiators play eight of their final nine regular season games on home ice, with the only road game being a day trip to Charlotte on Tuesday, March 30.
Leader: Forward Matt Francis leads all Gladiators skaters with 16 points on nine goals and seven assists in the past 11 games.
Blueliners: All-Star Drew Paris leads all rookie defensemen with 40 points, while teammate and fellow All-Star Sam Roberts is tied for second with 36.
Special Teams: Despite finishing their three-game series with Charlotte just 1-for-12 on the power play, the Gladiators continue to own the league's top power play unit, going 71-for-312 on the season, good for 22.8 percent. The Gladiators also own the league's top penalty kill unit, killing off 157 of 182 opponent power plays (86.%).
Dropping the Gloves: The Gladiators have played a season-high seven consecutive games in which there has been at least one fight.
A Little Berti: Despite being out of the lineup the past two games, forward Adam Berti continues to lead the team in both points (51) and assists (37). Meanwhile, forward Tom Zanoski leads all Gladiators with 22 goals.
Last of 3: The Gladiators lost the third game of a three-game set in regulation for the first time all season with a 4-2 loss to Charlotte on Sunday afternoon. Their record is now 4-1-1-1 in the third of three games.
.500: The Gladiators dropped to.500 for the second time in as many weeks after being above the mark since the second game of the season. They now stand at 28-28-4-3 entering a five-game home stand.
5 for Fighting: Forward Tim Miller has recorded a fighting major in three of the Gladiators' past four games.
Falling: After earning just one of a possible six points in a three-game road trip to Charlotte last week, the Gladiators have fallen to the 11th place position in the American Conference, the lowest they've been in the standings all season. However, they are just three points shy of the eighth place spot and five points short of the seventh with nine games remaining, eight of which are at home.
Last Week's Games: - March 8, Gwinnett 4, Cincinnati 3 - W Scott Mifsud opened the scoring with a power play marker 2:56 into the contest, but Cincinnati answered with a goal less than four minutes later. Jamie Fritsch notched his first pro goal 1:48 into the second period to put the Gladiators up 2-1, but Cincinnati again answered just two minutes later to tie it at two. The Cyclones then took the lead at 12:22 of the second, but Matt Francis notched his 14th goal on the power play less than two minutes later, and Tom Zanoski scored a tip-in goal in the third for the game-winner. Gwinnett finished 3-for-5 on the power play while holding the Cyclones scoreless in two man-advantages. Danny Taylor made 36 saves for his 17th win of the season, as the Gladiators knocked off the second-ranked team in the conference.
- March 11, Charlotte 5, Gwinnett 4 - SOL Despite leading by two goals with less than six minutes to play, the Gladiators dropped a South Division match up to the Charlotte Checkers 5-4 in a shootout. Michael Forney tied the game at one with his 11th goal of the season at 16:50 of the first, and Scott Mifsud tied it at two with his 17th goal at 18:04 of the second. Mifsud struck again 45 seconds later, and Sam Roberts gave the Gladiators a two-goal margin at 9:19 of the third, but David Marshall scored two goals in just over five minutes, including the tying goal with just 23 seconds remaining in overtime to complete his hat trick and send the game into overtime. In the shootout, Mifsud was the only player to score for the Gladiators, and Andrew Carroll scored in the final round to complete the Checkers' rally.
- March 13, Charlotte 4, Gwinnett 2 - L Charlotte's Mike Taylor opened the scoring just 2:15 into the opening period, but Dan Sullivan evened the score four minutes later with his 13th goal of the season on assists to Mike McLean and Sean Hurley. Charlotte then scored two unanswered goals off the sticks of Aaron Slattengren and Trevor Hendrikx for a 3-1 lead in the second period. Drew Paris pulled the Gladiators to within one with his second shorthanded marker of the season at 15:26 of the second period, but Slattengren notched his second goal of the game with an empty netter with just nine seconds left in regulation to seal the win for Charlotte. Munce made 28 saves in the contest, and neither team capitalized on the power play.
- March 14, Charlotte 4, Gwinnett 2 - L Chad Denny and Matt Francis each scored goals less than five minutes after the opening face off to give the Gladiators an early 2-0 lead, but Charlotte scored four unanswered goals over the next 55 minutes, including a shorthanded marker from Matt Schepke in the third period to beat the Gladiators 4-2 for the second straight game. Munce made 22 saves for the win, while Gwinnett's David Brown made 39 in the loss. Again, neither team managed a goal on the power play.
This Week's Games: Saturday, March 20th vs. Trenton Devils - 7:05 p.m. - WDUN.com Sunday, March 21st vs. Trenton Devils - 4:05 p.m. - WDUN.com
The Gladiators return to the Arena at Gwinnett Center after being on the road for nine of their last 10 games, as they take on the Trenton Devils in a two-game weekend series. The Gladiators begin a five-game home stand and play eight of their final nine contests of the regular season on home ice.
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