ECHL Atlanta Gladiators

3-28 Gladiators Weekly

Published on March 28, 2011 under ECHL (ECHL)
Atlanta Gladiators News Release


Looking Ahead: The Gwinnett Gladiators face the top team in the Eastern Conference, the Greenville Road Warriors, three times this week ‚¬Â¦twice in Greenville (Friday, Sunday) and once at the Arena at Gwinnett Center (Saturday). Those games will wrap up the Glads 2010-2011 season.

Playoff Push Comes to an End: Gwinnett's 4-3 loss to Reading on Sunday, coupled with Cincinnati's win and Elmira's overtime loss officially eliminated Gwinnett from the Eastern Conference playoff race. The most points the Glads could end up with would be six, which would put them one short as of today of Cincy and Elmira.

Saskatoon Sensation: Rookie forward Dustin Cameron has emerged as a serious offensive threat for Gwinnett, scoring six goals in his last five games. During his active six game point streak the Saskatoon, SASK native has six goals and four assists.

Fantastic Franny: Forward Matt Francis returned from a 38-game absence (IR) on 3/11 in Elmira and found the back of the net in the third period of a 2-1 loss. It was his first tally since October 22nd (he was put on the IR on 12/3). In the nine games since he returned Francis has four goals and five assists.

Forney on Fire: Forward Michael Forney now has 38 points over his last 33 games (14 g, 24 a) since the start of 2011. He has at least a point in 26 of those 33 contests.

Missing the Dream: Forward Akim Aliu was reassigned to Peoria (AHL) from Atlanta (NHL) on March 7th. Aliu had 20 points (12 goals) in 16 games as a Glad, but in the nine games since his call-up Gwinnett is just 2-7 and is averaging only 2.2 goals per game.

Working Overtime: Rookie netminder Chris Carrozzi has been a workhorse for Gwinnett this season. He leads rookies and is 4th in the ECHL with 2,413 minutes played, and is 5th in saves with 1105.

Welcome to the ECHL: Rookie forward Patrick Knowlton registered his first point as a pro on 3/20 in his third game, assisting on Michael Forney's first period goal. Knowlton had six goals and 20 assists in 36 games this season at Sacred Heart University.

Bucking the Trend: In three game sets this season Gwinnett has typically improved the more they have seen an opponent. That wasn't the case the past two weekends, however. In the first game the Gladiators are just 4-4-3, but they are 7-3-0 in the second and third games (14-6-0 combined). They dropped the second and third games against Florida and Reading the past two weekends.

A Full 60 Minutes: The score after the first two periods has been crucial for the Gladiators this season. Gwinnett is a perfect 22-0-0 this season when leading after two periods of play but the Gladiators are 2-27-6 when trailing after two periods of play this season. The only other team that is undefeated when leading after two periods is Alaska (36-0-0).

Strange Special Teams Swings: The Gladiators special teams are completely different on the road versus at home. The Glads 6th overall (19%) ranked powerplay also sits at 6th in the league (21.3%) when the team is at home, but on the road they only convert on 16.3% of their chances (13th). Their 8th overall penalty kill (82.9%) is the exact opposite ‚¬Â¦at home Gwinnett ranks 14th (80.6%) while on the road they rank 5th (85%).

This Week's Games:

Thursday, March 31st at Greenville - 7:05 p.m.

Friday, April 1st vs. Greenville - 7:35 p.m. (Home Finale)

Saturday, April 2nd at Greenville - 7:05 p.m. (Season Finale)

Last Week:

March 26th, Gwinnett 3, Reading 4 - L The Arena at Gwinnett Center, Duluth, GA

The Gwinnett Gladiators were eliminated from playoff contention Sunday at the Arena at Gwinnett Center, falling to the Reading Royals 4-3. The Glads (30-32-7) now have three games remaining in the season, and have dropped seven of their last nine. Chris Blight had a hat trick for the Royals, and Matt Dalton stopped 41 of 44 shots. Dustin Cameron had two goals and an assist for Gwinnett, who fell behind 4-2 early in the third and couldn't recover from the deficit despite out-shooting Reading 44-23.

March 25th, Gwinnett 1, Reading 7 - L The Arena at Gwinnett Center, Duluth, GA

The Reading Royals opened with five straight goals to top the Gwinnett Gladiators 7-1 Saturday night at the Arena at Gwinnett Center on Star Wars Night. The Gladiators remain five points back of eighth place Cincinnati in the Eastern Conference playoff race with only four games remaining. An unassisted shorthanded breakaway goal from Casey Haines with only 34 seconds remaining in the opening period gave the Royals a 1-0 lead headed into the second. Reading tacked on four goals in the second period, and never looked back. Michael Forney scored late in the second for Gwinnett's only marker on the night.

March 23rd, Gwinnett 3, Reading 2 - W The Arena at Gwinnett Center, Duluth, GA

With the Prince Albert Raiders, forward Dustin Cameron and goaltender Garrett Zemlak spent two years terrorizing the Western Hockey League. Wednesday night they reunited to lead the Gladiators over the Reading Royals 3-2 at the Arena at Gwinnett Center. The Glads (30-30-7) snapped a four-game losing streak while keeping their playoff hopes alive. In his first game in goal for Gwinnett Zemlak stopped 29 of 31 shots, denying Reading (40-21-5) on several point blank chances. The Glads are his fifth team this season after they picked the rookie up off waivers from Elmira on March 16th. Rookie forward Dustin Cameron, another former Jackal, was the number one star scoring two goals and tacking on an assist. He now has seven tallies in 24 games since joining Gwinnett in a trade with Elmira and has a three-game goal scoring streak. Both Cameron and Zemlak hail from Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.

This Week's Promotions:

FRIDAY vs. GREENVILLE ‚¬Â¦

Fan Appreciation Night and Friendly Friday

It's no April Fools joke, but you may want to watch out for a few. The Gladiators will be giving away great gifts from participating sponsors in appreciation of your support of the team as the Gladiators close out the 2010-2011 regular season against the Greenville Road Warriors.

It's also the last Friendly Friday of the regular season. Adults get a premium level ticket in Section 115, a soda and either a pizza slice or jumbo hotdog for only $20 per person. Kids get a premium level ticket in Section 115 and a Kids Meal (chicken bites or hot dog, fries and a soda) for only $15. For a family of four, that's a professional hockey game and a meal for only $ 70 total. The friendly Friday offer is only available online or at the Arena at Gwinnett Center Box office.

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ECHL Stories from March 28, 2011


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