ECHL Atlanta Gladiators

Gladiators Fall to Wildcatters 5-4 in OT

April 18, 2007 - ECHL (ECHL)
Atlanta Gladiators News Release


The Gwinnett Gladiators valiant comeback effort overcoming a 4-1 deficit to send the game to overtime was all for not as they fell to the Texas Wildcatters 5-4 in overtime. Texas scored 7:02 into the extra session on Wednesday night at the Ford Arena in Beaumont, Texas for the win. The Wildcatters now take a 2-games-to-1 series lead on the Gladiators in the best-of-five South Division Semi-Finals. Game 4 of the series is Friday night at 9:00 p.m. at the Ford Arena in Beaumont.

Texas jumped out to a 2-0 lead on the Gladiators after the opening period with a pair of goals within the first 10 minutes of the contest. Olivier Proulx gave the Wildcatters a 1-0 lead as collected a rebound along the goal line and flipped the puck past Gladiators netminder Dan Turple for the marker. Paul Albers notched the assist on the goal just 3:47 into the first period.

Kevin Baker gave the Wildcatters a 2-0 lead as he ripped a slap shot past Turple from the left wing circle for the marker at the 9:50 mark of the first period. Albers posted his second assist of the night on the goal, while Brandin Cote also had a helper on the tally for the Wildcatters.

The Wildcatters pushed their lead to 3-0 just 26 seconds into the second period. Albers walked across the Gwinnett blue line and ripped a slap shot past Turple for the marker. Cote had his second assist of the night, while Daniel Sparre also had an assist on the helper for Texas.

Gwinnett cut the lead to 3-1 on Jon Awe's first goal of the post season ripping a slap shot from the left wing circle past Texas netminder Danny Taylor for the marker at the 14:03 mark of the second period. Andy Brandt and Chad Painchaud posted the assists on the goal for the Gladiators.

Sparre pushed the Texas lead back to three goals as he found a loose puck in the slot and flipped it past Turple for the marker. Albers posted his third assist of the game for the Wildcatters on the power play goal. Mike Madill also had an assist on the goal for Texas that came with just 2:03 left in the middle stanza.

Gwinnett scored three third period goals to get back into the contest. ECHL Rookie of the Year Colton Fretter notched the first of the three goals for the Gladiators burying a backhander past Taylor just 1:38 into the third period. Brandon Kaleniecki posted the assist on the goal for the Gladiators.

Mike Vigilante got the Gladiators within a goal as he collected a loose puck that slipped past Taylor just 3:22 into the third period. Matt York and Paul Flache hooked up to pick up the assists on the goal for the Gladiators.

Gwinnett tied the game at 4-4 on Fretter's second goal of the contest with just 7:02 left in the third period. On a 5-on-3 power play, Fretter took a rink wide pass as he was parked on the off post and ripped the puck past Taylor for the tying marker. Joel Stepp and Scott Mifsud had the assist on the power play goal for Gwinnett.

Texas posted the game-winning goal at the 7:02 mark of the overtime period as Sparre was able to post his second marker of the game. Collecting a bouncing puck along the goal line and flip the puck past Turple for the marker. Kevin Baker had the lone assist on the goal for the Wildcatters.

Turple finished with 40 saves in the loss for the Gladiators. Gwinnett went 1-for-7 on the power play in the loss while the Wildcatters also posted a goal on the man advantage in the game.

The Gwinnett Gladiators continue their fourth season as a proud member of the ECHL as they continue the 2007 Kelly Cup Playoffs on Wednesday, April 20th at Texas against the Wildcatters at 9:05 p.m. Season tickets 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 on the Your Best Rate Financial Home Ice 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.

Check out the Atlanta Gladiators Statistics



ECHL Stories from April 18, 2007


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