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ECHL Atlanta Gladiators

Gladiators Dropped by Everblades 6-3

April 1, 2009 - ECHL (ECHL)
Atlanta Gladiators News Release


Estero, FL - Gwinnett got a pair of third period goals from Jordan Fox but it wasn't enought to overcome a 6-1 third period deficit in a 6-3 loss to the Florida Everblades on Wednesday night at the Germain Arena. Gwinnett falls to 30-33-6 on the season and still need 1.5 wins to qualify for the 2009 Kelly Cup Playoffs.

Florida took a 1-0 lead on the Gladiators at 3:47 of the first period. Mark Lee beat Gladiators netmdiner Joe Fallon from the slot for the goal. Ross Carlson set up the play feeding Lee in the slot for an assist. Matheiu Roy also had a helper on the goal for the Everblades.

Adam Sweetland extended the Everblades lead to 2-0 at 14:33 of the first period on the power play. Sweetland beat Fallon from a bad angle along the goal line off a feed from Milan Gajic. Peter Metcalf added an assist on the goal for Florida at 14:33 of the period.

Gwinnett got on the board late in the first period on their first power play chance of the game. Dirk Southern walked out of the corner and into the slot before beating Florida netminder Kyle Gajewski for the marker. Pat Bateman and Jordan Fox notched the assists on the power play goal at 17:48 of the period for the Gladiators.

Florida exploded for four goals in the second period to take control of the contest. Kevin Baker added his league leading 56th goal of the season just 3:47 into second to give Florida a 3-1 lead. A.J. Thelen and Drew Paris had the helpers on the marker.

Brad Zanon pushed the Florida lead to 4-1 about four minutes later. Zanon was able to beat Fallon from a scramble in the slot for the goal. Lee and Doug O'Brien had the helpers on the marker for Florida at 7:58 of the second period.

Baker had his second goal of the game deflecting a shot from the point past Fallon to give the Everblades a 5-1 lead. Baker's marker came just seconds after a power play expired for Florida. Dominic D'Amour and Metcalf collected the assists on the goal at 14:27 of the second period.

Ernie Hartlieb gave Florida the five-goal lead with just 2:42 left in the second period. From a bad angle, Hartlieb threw the puck at the net and it eluded Fallon. The netminder was lifted in favor of Josh Johnson for the Gladiators after the goal. Roy and Carlson each had their second assists of the contest on the marker for Florida.

Gwinnett got a pair of goals back in the third period on the power play. Jordan Fox picked up a rebound along the goal line and flicked the puck past Gajewski for his first marker of the period. Dirk Southern and J.C. Sawyer had the assists on the power play goal for Gwinnett just 4:13 into the final period.

Fox added a second goal with just 5 seconds left in the contest with a one man effort working into the Florida zone. Fox slippped past a pair of Florida defensemen and beat Gajewski to cut the Everblades lead in half. Scott Marchesi notched an assist on the power play marker for Gwinnett.

Fallon finished with 20 saves for the Gladiators while Johnson turned aside all 6 shots he saw in relief in the final 22:42 in the contest. Gwinnett finished 3-for-5 on the power play in the contest scoring all three goals on the man advantage.

The Gladiators return to action on Friday, April 3rd as they host the South Carolina Stingrays at the Arena at Gwinnett Center at 7:35 p.m. Catch all the play by play action on WDUN.

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 23 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 continue their sixth season as a proud member of the ECHL - 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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