Sports stats



ECHL Atlanta Gladiators

Gladiators Knock Off Walleye 5-3

February 5, 2010 - ECHL (ECHL)
Atlanta Gladiators News Release


Rookie forward Michael Forney had two goals, his first multiple-point outing of the season, and Drew Paris finished with two assists, and the Gladiators held off the third-place Toledo Walleye by the score of 5-3 for their first regulation victory at home in two months. Gwinnett opened a 4-1 lead in the third, only to let the Walleye back to within one before securing the contest with an empty net goal with just over a minute remaining to secure the victory.

The Gladiators got on the board with a power play goal at 13:02 of the opening period after Toledo's Justin Suda went off for holding at 11:44. Defenseman Drew Paris took a pass from Scott Mifsud at the point and ripped a shot which Dan Sullivan deflected just below the hash marks and under the glove of Toledo goaltender Jordan Pearce for the 1-0 lead.

The Gladiators took an early 13-9 shots on goal advantage after the opening period.

Adam Berti gave the Gladiators a 2-0 lead 1:53 into the second period on a rebound opportunity with Drew Paris picking up his second assist of the night. Again, Paris blasted a shot from the point. Pearce fought off the shot but gave up a rebound to Berti, who patiently waited for a clear shot then elevated a wrist shot over the sprawling Toledo net minder.

The Walleye finally solved Gwinnett goaltender Danny Taylor on the power play, as Dominic Osman recorded his fifth man-advantage marker of the season. After Tim Filangieri was assessed a holding penalty at 17:17 of the period, Osman took a pass from Chris Robertson and unleashed a strong wrist shot from below the right face off circle. Despite taking most of the speed off the shot, Taylor couldn't get enough of it, and it trickled through his pads and just across the goal line to cut the Gladiators' lead to 2-1. Sebastien Piche also picked up an assist on the play.

But Michael Forney restored the Gladiators' two-goal lead just over a minute later with his 6th goal of the season. Forney collected a pass from Mike McLean in his own zone and made a rush up the right wing boards and into the Toledo end and unleashed a shot from the right faceoff circle. Pearce's attempted a save with his stick but instead deflected the shot behind him and into the back of the net for a 3-1 Gladiators lead.

Gwinnett took a 28-19 advantage in shots into the locker room after 40 minutes.

Forney opened the third period the same way he closed out the second. After Toledo's Scooter Smith took a hooking penalty just nine seconds after the third period's opening faceoff, Forney put the Gladiators up 4-1, jamming home a rebound in front of the net off a Tim Miller shot from the left faceoff circle. Nick St. Pierre also collected an assist on the play, his first since joining the Gladiators last week.

The Walleye cut the Gladiators' lead back down to two with a 5-on-3 power play goal at 7:16 of the third. Chad Denny was called for unsportsmanlike conduct when he dropped the gloves for a fight with Toledo's Chris Roberts, who declined, and Matt Francis then went off on a hooking call just over a minute later. A deflection by Toledo's Mark Nebus past Taylor on the doorstep that was initially waved off by the referee, was then ruled a goal, the second power play marker of the night for the Walleye, cutting the score to 4-2.

A penalty shot goal from Toledo's second leading scorer Maxime Tanguay brought the Walleye to within one.

After pulling their goaltender and putting heavy pressure on the Gladiators in the closing minutes of regulation, the Walleye allowed Tim Miller to escape the zone with the puck, and he casually deposited the puck into the back of the net to ice the game at 5-3.

Danny Taylor finished with 32 saves, including a couple at point blank range, for the victory, his third in his past four games, while Toledo's Jordan Pearce had 27 saves in his 10th regulation loss of the season.

Forney, Paris, and Berti each tallied two points on the night for the Gladiators, and newcomers Mike McLean and Nick St. Pierre also chipped in with assists, while Toledo's Dominic Osman had a goal and an assist to lead his squad.

Each team finished 2-for-5 on the power play, and the Gladiators avoided giving up a shorthanded goal for the fourth consecutive contest.

The teams will face each other again in a rematch on Saturday night before the Gladiators head South early next week for two South Division match ups with the Everblades on Tuesday and Wednesday nights.

Check out the Atlanta Gladiators Statistics

• Discuss this story on the ECHL message board...

ECHL Stories from February 5, 2010


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