ECHL Atlanta Gladiators

Gladiators Beat Checkers, 4-3 in SO

Published on March 19, 2005 under ECHL (ECHL)
Atlanta Gladiators News Release


Mike Vigilante's goal with 1.7 seconds left in the third period to send the game to overtime helped propel the Gladiators past the Charlotte Checkers 4-3 in a shootout on Saturday night at the Cricket Arena.

A Gladiators defensive breakdown at the Gwinnett blue line turned into the Checkers first goal 7:28 into the first period. Bogdan Rudenko picked up the goal as he was able to jam the puck past Gladiators netminder Sean Fields. Eduard Pershin started the play as he tapped the puck past a defenseman and took the initial shot to create the rebound and set up the goal.

Charlotte took a 2-0 lead five minutes later on a 3-on-1 break. Steve MacIntyre was able to tap the puck past a Gladiators defenseman at the blue line to spring Lee Falardeau down the left wing. Falardeau fed Juris Stals on a cross-ice pass in the slot where Stals slammed the puck home for the tally at 12:28 of the first period.

Mike Vigilante got the Gladiators on the board 4:48 into the second period on the power play beating Charlotte netminder Alex Westlund as he put back a rebound from the left of the crease. Chris Durno and Rick Emmett picked up the assists on the power play goal. The Gladiators tied the game up at 2-2 just 30 seconds later. A Charlotte defenseman put a shot off of Brad Schell's leg that bounced back into the neutral zone where Schell chased after it and came in on a 2-on-1 break. Schell threw the puck into the slot where Peter Flache got a stick on the puck and deflected it past Westlund for the tally at 5:18 of the second period.

Charlotte took a 3-2 lead late in the third period as Juris Stals was able to beat Fields with a snapshot on an odd man rush. Jason Dawe and Ryan Lang added the assists on the tally five seconds after a Gladiators penalty expired at 14:21 of the third period. The Gladiators battled back to send the game to overtime with just 1.7 seconds left in the third period. Mike Vigilante was able to deflect a centering pass from Kris Goodjohn over the shoulder of Westlund on top of the crease for the tying goal. Jeff Campbell also picked up an assist on the goal for the Gladiators.

The Gladiators got goals from Campbell and Rick Emmett's winner in the shootout while Jason Dawe was the only scorer in the shootout for Charlotte. Gwinnett out shot the Checkers 34 to 25 in the win while going 1-for-5 on the power play.

The Gladiators host the Columbia Inferno at the Arena at Gwinnett Center on Sunday. It's a Kroger Family Day on Sunday and fans can get 4 premium level tickets, 2 caps, 2 programs and 1 Kroger Family Meal Deal (8 piece chicken dinner and a 2 liter Big K soft drink) for just $40 only at the Arena at Gwinnett Center Box Office.

The Central Division Champion Gwinnett Gladiators continue their second season at The Arena at Gwinnett Center on Sunday, March 20th at 4:05 p.m. against the Columbia Inferno. The Gladiators offer several ticket packages for different needs as well as group outings, suites and birthday parties. For more information call 770-497-5100 or log on to www.gwinnettgladiators.com. The Gladiators play all 36 home games at the Arena at Gwinnett Center located on Sugarloaf Parkway in Duluth and are the AA affiliate of the Atlanta Thrashers.

Check out the Atlanta Gladiators Statistics

Share: Facebook | Twitter/X | LinkedIn | Reddit | Email



ECHL Stories from March 19, 2005


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.

OurSports Central