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ECHL Atlanta Gladiators

Gladiators Driven out by I-85 Rivals, 5-3

December 26, 2014 - ECHL (ECHL)
Atlanta Gladiators News Release


GREENVILLE, SC - In the Gladiators' (8-16-1-0) first game back from the holiday break, they couldn't outslug the Greenville Road Warriors (19-8-0-1) as they fell 5-3 Friday night at the Bon Secours Wellness Arena. Casey Pierro-Zabotel and J.P. Labardo each marked two assists on the night, and Pierro-Zabotel extended his point streak to six games.

The Gladiators played well in the opening period, outshooting Greenville 13-to-9, but they weren't the first to get on the board. Trevor Parkes shoved his way through the heavy 1-on-3 Gwinnett pressure, creating a breakaway for himself. He dangled the puck around Adam Brown's outstretched left toe to give Greenville the 1-0 lead at 16:28 of the first.

At 6:23 of the second, Emerson Clark scored on Greenville's first power play of the night, wristing the puck by Brown's glove. Following a vicious fight between McEwan and Clark, the Gladiators appeared to feed off the spark and get back in the game.

Tristin Llewellyn scored his fourth of the season on a shot from the top of the zone at 12:42 that appeared to travel through heavy traffic out in front. Gwinnett had the momentum, but Greenville would steal it back less than two minutes later with Ben Power's first professional goal at 14:38.

Greenville began the third with another goal, just over a minute in. Sean Escobedo one-timed the puck past Brown's right on a pass from the cross-ice half-boards, giving the Road Warriors the 4-1 lead.

35 seconds later, Gwinnett got another back. Travis Ouellette scored his first goal in a Gladiators' sweater by jamming home a puck from a few feet in front of Jason Missiaen's right side at 1:48.

Emerson Clark would score a shorthanded, breakaway goal midway through the period to give the Road Warriors another three-goal lead, and with under a minute to go in the third, Bo Dolan scored his third of the year from the right faceoff circle to make it 5-3 in favor of Greenville.

Missiaen allowed three goals on 34 shots, while Brown made 29 saves on 34 shots against. The two sides each tallied 34 shots on the night, the first time this year that Gwinnett tied an opponent in that column.

Gwinnett and Greenville will play again tomorrow night at the Road Warriors' home arena, once again at 7:00 p.m. The Glads will return home to The Arena at Gwinnett Center on Monday, December 29th for Festivus and the annual Ugly Sweater Contest against the Wheeling Nailers at 7:05 p.m.

For tickets and schedule information, visit the official team website at www.gwinnettgladiators.com or call the main office line at 770-497-5100.

The Gladiators are members of the ECHL, the nation's premier "AA" hockey league, and are affiliated with the Arizona Coyotes of the NHL. All home games are played at the 11,355-seat Arena at Gwinnett Center, located just off I-85 on Sugarloaf Parkway in Duluth - where parking is always free.

As Atlanta's "One and Only" professional hockey team, the Gladiators have established an extraordinary winning tradition and unrivaled commitment to excellence, maintaining a distinctive reputation for affordable and family-friendly sports entertainment. The Gladiators are consistently ranked as one of the top "Things To Do" in the Atlanta area and across the North Georgia region.

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