ECHL Atlanta Gladiators

Gladiators Open 2009 Season With 4-1 Win

Published on October 17, 2009 under ECHL (ECHL)
Atlanta Gladiators News Release


The Gwinnett Gladiators opened the 2009-10 season at home with a convincing 4-1 win over the visiting Wheeling Nailers. Tom Zanoski had two goals and two assists and Adam Berti and Brad Schell each chipped in two assists as Gwinnet took their season opener in front of a Saturday night crowd of 6,551.

Drew Paris got the scoring started just 3:49 into the opening period. Brad Schell sent a quick pass through the crease from behind the goal line on the left side of the cage, which found Paris who beat Wheeling goaltender Jordan Allford on the short side for the first goal of the season.

It was a fast-paced first period with lots of pushing and shoving, but Wheeling began showing signs of fatigue after opening their season at South Carolina the night previous.

The Gladiators took a 1-0 lead into the second period and showed the results of a grueling training camp with crisp passing and extended possessions, but it was Wheeling who was next to light the lamp. T.J. Fox got the Nailers on the board next with assists from Thomas Beauregard and Jimmy Sharrow. But that was all Gwinnett Goaltender Josh Johnson would surrender.

The Gladiators were solid for the rest of the game giving up just eight shots in the second period and five in the third.

Tom Zanoski notched his first of two goals on a powerplay goal 11:25 in to the period with a shot from the right circle after a pass from Adam Berti in the near corner to restore the Gladiators' one goal lead.

The Gladiators dominated much of the period with extended possessions in the offensive zone with the Nailers struggling just to clear the zone.

At 5:09 of the third period, Matt Caruana added to the Gladiators' lead, beating Allford on the forehand after a tic-tac-toe play found him alone in front of the net. Assists went to Zanoski and Berti.

The Gladiators continued to pepper Allford with shots through the third period while keeping Wheeling off the board. Following matching minors, Josh Johnson came up with the biggest save of the night on a 2-on-1 rush, preserving the 3-1 lead.

The Gladiators finished two for nine on the powerplay while killing off each of their four penalties.

Shots were heavily in favor of Gwinnett, who finished with a 36-15 margin, including 13 in each of the first two periods.

The Gladiators continue their opening weekend with a Sunday afternoon game against Wheeling at 4:05 p.m.

The Gladiators are now 1-0-0-0 and Wheeling falls to 0-2-0-0 on the season.

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ECHL Stories from October 17, 2009


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