ECHL Atlanta Gladiators

Gladiators Bitten by 'Gators, 4-3

March 9, 2004 - ECHL (ECHL)
Atlanta Gladiators News Release


Louisiana's Frederic Cloutier turned aside all four Gladiators shooters in the shootout while Ben Storey netted the deciding shootout goal to help the IceGators to a 4-3 shootout win over the Gladiators at the Arena at Gwinnett Center on Tuesday night.

Kevin Doell snapped a quick shot over the shoulder of Louisiana goaltender Frederic Cloutier midway through the first period to give the Gladiators a 1-0 lead. Wes Fox, in his first game back after a shoulder injury, picked up an assist on the goal as he hooked up with Wes Swinson to set up the tally.

Louisiana answered with the ECHL's top ranked power play 16 seconds into their second man advantage opportunity five minutes later. Ed McGrane was left wide open in the slot and slid the puck past Gladiators netminder Trevor Prior. Alex Materukhin and Bobby Brown recorded the assets on the tally at 14:17 of the opening period.

Louisiana took a 2-1 lead 5:01 into the second period when Milt Mastad found a loose puck in a pile around the crease and flipped the loose rubber over an outstretched Prior. Materukhin and Brown again added the assist on the tally.

Brandon Dietrich equalized the contest at 2-2 with a nifty backhander over a frozen Cloutier with a little over six and a half minutes left in the second period. Joe Bourne and Tyler Deis added the assists on the tally.

Materukhin's shorthanded tally just 30 seconds later gave the IceGators a 3-2 lead as he beat Jeff Dotson, who was in relieving Prior as the netminder fixed an equipment problem. Maxime Fortunus and Brown added the assists on the goal at 14:43 of the second.

Gwinnett tied the contest up at 3-3 3:43 into the second period on Wes Swinson's wrist shot from the point through traffic past Cloutier. Kris Goodjohn added an assist on the tally.

Despite chances at both ends of the ice, overtime ended in a stalemate while the Gladiators could not beat Cloutier in the shootout.

The Gladiators are back in action on Friday as they host the Pensacola Ice Pilots in a 7:035 p.m. tilt. It's St. Patrick's Day Poster night. The first 2,000 fans receive a special Gladiators St. Patrick's Day poster courtesy of Kroger, Charter Communications, The Gwinnett Daily Post and 680 AM The Fan.

Check out the Atlanta Gladiators Statistics



ECHL Stories from March 9, 2004


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