ECHL Atlanta Gladiators

Gladiators Beat Checkers 5-1

Published on March 6, 2009 under ECHL (ECHL)
Atlanta Gladiators News Release


A strong performance by goalie Josh Johnson and goals by five different skaters led the Gwinnett Gladiators to a 5-1 victory over the Charlotte Checkers Friday night at the Arena at Gwinnet Center. Playing in their first game of the season with Gwinnett after being assigned from the Chicago Wolves, Chad Denny and Tomas Pospisil both scored in their return to the Gladiators.

Gladiators captain Jeff Mason put the team on the board at 7:37 of the first period with a one-timer from the blue line. Jean-Claude Sawyer and Andy Brandt both tallied a helper on his 10th goal of the season. Mason is currently one goal away from tying his career-high 11 goals with the ECHL's Long Beach Ice Dogs during the 2006-07 season.

Skating in from the neutral zone, Jim Jackson passed the puck across to Tomas Pospisil who pushed the Gladiators' lead to two with his first goal of the season. Pospisil was recently re-assigned to Gwinnett from the Chicago Wolves, while Jackson returned from the Peoria Rivermen, both of the American Hockey League.

Sawyer got on the scoresheet again midway through the second period. Pospisil held the puck behind the Checkers' net, and found Sawyer skating in through the slot. The goal was Sawyer's fifth of the season.

Early in the third period, defenseman Chad Denny scored his first ECHL goal of the season to make the score 4-0. Denny spun around a defender in the neutral zone, and fired a shot high over netminder Maxime Daigneault's glove. Friday's game was Denny's first of the season with Gwinnett after playing in 33 games with the Chicago Wolves in the AHL.

Tom Zanoski scored the first special teams tally of the night 6:02 into the third period. Zanoski passed it back and forth with Jim Jackson, before finally blasting a shot from the right wing faceoff circle. Adam Berti also assisted on the goal, his second helper of the contest.

Charlotte was finally able to get one past Josh Johnson with just over five minutes remaining in the game on a long range shot from the blueline that bounced off a few players before finding the back of the net. Forward Michel Leveille scored the goal, his 11th of the season.

Josh Johnson made 36 saves in the winning effort, improving his record to 13-10-0-1.

The Gladiators held Charlotte scoreless on eight power play chances, and went 1-for-4 with the man advantage.

Gwinnett improves to 25-25-1-5 with the win, and moves to within one point of Mississippi for fourth place in the South Division.

The Gladiators next take the ice on Saturday, March 7th as they host the Trenton Devils for the first and only time this season at the Arena at Gwinnett Center at 7:05 p.m. Catch all the play by play action in Friday's game on WDUN, News Talk 550.

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 21 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 March 6, 2009


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.

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