Glads Open 2013 with 4-2 Loss in Fort Wayne
January 2, 2013 - ECHL (ECHL)
Atlanta Gladiators News Release
FORT WAYNE, Ind. - Coyotes prospect Evan Bloodoff and defenseman Cody Brookwell found the back of the net, but a slow start haunted the Gwinnett Gladiators in a 4-2 loss to the Fort Wayne Komets on Wednesday night at the Allen County War Memorial Coliseum.
Despite controlling play through much of the second half of the game, Fort Wayne (17-14-1-1) pulled away for good late in the third. Corey Elkins shot in over the Gwinnett (22-12-1-0) blue line, forced his way to the slot and tipped the puck through the legs of goalie Louis Domingue for what proved to be the winning marker. Kaleigh Schrock tacked on an empty-netter for the 4-2 final.
Domingue dropped just his second start in his last twelve, but the Gladiators remain in first place in the South Division with 45 points and a game-in-hand over the second place Road Warriors.
Elkins finished with a goal and an assist in his Fort Wayne season debut, while Luca Caputi racked up three assists. Marco Cousineau notched the win in his first appearance for the Komets since November 3rd. This was the final meeting of the regular season between the two teams, with the Komets prevailing in three of the five games.
The Gladiators were slow to start in the opening period, and forward Thomas Beauregard helped the Komets to a two-goal edge through 20 minutes, as he buried the 99th and 100th tallies of his ECHL career at 8:00 and 13:56.
The Gladiators pulled even with two goals of their own in the second period. Bloodoff kick-started the offense with a tremendous effort at 14:19, as he stepped around a Komet defenseman on a one-on-one break and backhanded a shot over the glove of Cousineau for an unassisted tally.
Gwinnett tied the game at 2-2 thanks to some nifty passing. With a delayed penalty called on the Komets, Alex Belzile drew the defense to his position in the near faceoff circle and put a pass across the slot right on the tape of Brookwell, who hammered it into the vacant net with just 8.6 seconds left in the stanza. Scott Arnold had the second assist.
Gwinnett returns home on Friday, playing host to the South Carolina Stingrays at 7:35 p.m.
• Discuss this story on the ECHL message board...
ECHL Stories from January 2, 2013
- Glads Open 2013 with 4-2 Loss in Fort Wayne - Atlanta Gladiators
- Torrey Mitchell Set to Make SF Bulls Debut Tonight - San Francisco Bulls
- ECHL Transactions - January 2 - ECHL
- Solar Bears Agree to Terms with Dan Dries - Orlando Solar Bears
- Forwards Knight and Randell Assigned to Stingrays - South Carolina Stingrays
- Condors Raise $13,650 with Varner Jersey, Kids in Free Tonight - Bakersfield Condors
- Pierro-Zabotel Selected as a Started for ECHL All-Stars - Atlanta Gladiators
- Condors vs. Idaho - Kids in Free Night - Bakersfield Condors
- Stretch Added to 2013 ECHL All-Star Classic Roster - Ontario Reign
- Royals Philipp Grubauer and Denny Urban Selected to Start in 2013 ECHL All-Star Game - Reading Royals
- Defenseman Nathan Deck Named Starter for the ECHL All-Star Game - Stockton Thunder
- Toledo Walleye Sign Trevor Nill - Toledo Walleye
- Starters Announced for 2013 ECHL All-Star Game - ECHL
- Orlando's Gendur Named Sher-Wood Hockey ECHL Player of the Week - ECHL
- Dan Gendur Named ECHL Player of the Week - Orlando Solar Bears
- Elmira Jackals Receive Pair from Binghamton - Elmira Jackals
- Kane Lafranchise Called up to Oklahoma City - Alaska Aces
- Game Preview: Stockton Thunder At Utah Grizzlies - Stockton Thunder
- Nestrasil Named Plus Performer of the Month - Toledo Walleye
- Toledo's Nestrasil Is AMI Graphics ECHL Plus Performer of the Month - ECHL
- Smith Reassigned to Idaho from Texas - Idaho Steelheads
- South Carolina's Zapolski Named Reebok Hockey ECHL Goaltender of the Week - ECHL
- Zapolski Named Reebok Hockey ECHL Goaltender of the Week - South Carolina Stingrays
- Cyclones Radio Network to Broadcast on FM 100.3 the FAN - Cincinnati Cyclones
- ECHL Today - January 2 - ECHL
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.