Sports stats



ECHL Atlanta Gladiators

Gladiators Outslugged in 5-3 Contest

February 28, 2015 - ECHL (ECHL)
Atlanta Gladiators News Release


ORLANDO, Fla. - The Gladiators dropped a 5-3 decision to the Orlando Solar Bears on Saturday night that saw two separate full-ice scrums envelop the game late in the second period. The Gladiators (17-33-3-2) had goals from Zach Yuen, J.P. Labardo, and Dyson Stevenson before the skirmishes and Orlando (26-20-4-2) scored four unanswered after the fights to take the win.

Things boiled to a head quickly at the 16:18 point of the 2nd period. Geoff Paukovich and Scott Tanski got things started with a fight after a save by Mark Guggenberger. The fight escalated to a full-ice scrum, and then as things were calming back down and the referees were sorting out the penalties, goaltender Garret Sparks challenged Mark Guggenberger from across the ice.

Before the two could meet, Dyson Stevenson came darting through the zone to meet him and the two engaged in one of the more passionate fights this season. That led to ejections for Stevenson and Sparks, and things weren't done yet.

A minute later, at 17:10, Alexandre Carrier crashed violently into Guggenberger on a save attempt. Carrier lower his shoulder through Guggenberger, tackling him to the ice and leading to a second set of brawling. Patrick MacGregor pulled Carrier back to the boards, while Brock Montgomery and Carl Nielsen tried to start separate fights to coax Guggenberger into an ejection situation.

The Gwinnett goaltender kept his cool, while MacGregor, Montgomery, and Nielsen earned ejections for themselves. For starting the fighting and barreling into Guggenberger, Carrier was punished with two five minute majors and a game misconduct.

The fights appeared to stunt the Gladiators' momentum as they held a 3-1 lead to that point. Zach Yuen scored the first Gwinnett goal at 18:09 of the first period. The Gladiators were on a 5-on-3 power play, and Yuen jumped into a loose puck scrum on top of the crease, batting in the goal to tie the score at one.

On the second half of that power play, J.P. Labardo tipped in another loose puck with just 34 seconds remaining in the period to give the Gladiators the 2-1 lead at the intermission.

The Gladiators played their best hockey in the first half of the second period, taking eight of the period's first ten shots. The strong play culminated with Stevenson's goal at 7:42 from Labardo and Dan O'Donoghue. From there, the battle turned back in Orlando's favor as they starting getting more physical against Gwinnett.

While killing off Carrier's five minute major, Orlando cut the deficit to one with Denver Manderson's shorthanded goal with a minute remaining in the wild second period.

Orlando took back the lead with three goals in the third period for the second straight night. First Max Nicastro's power play point shot at 4:52, then a rare even strength goal from Patrick Watling at 9:01 to take the lead, and finally an empty net goal from Brady Vail with 19 seconds remaining in the game.

In all, 152 penalty minutes were called between the two teams, with Orlando totaling almost two thirds of that - 97 minutes. Six players were ejected for their roles in the fights, four of them being Solar Bears, including Garret Sparks, who was ejected twice, once from the ice, and again for going into the stands to yell at the Gladiators in the third period.

Joe Howe was 14-for-14 in relief of Sparks, who allowed three goals on 20 shots. Mark Guggenberger went the whole way for the Gladiators, stopping 37 of the 41 shots against him.

The Gladiators have one more road game before heading back home to The Arena at Gwinnett Center, as they take on the red-hot South Carolina Stingrays at the North Charleston Coliseum on Friday, March 6th at 7:05 p.m. The game will be broadcast on www.gwinnettgladiators.com/radio and WDUN.com, stream 3, starting at 6:50 p.m.

Gwinnett will return to The Arena at Gwinnett Center on Saturday, March 7th for $5 Frenzy Night - Mesh Replica Jerseys also against the Stingrays.

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.

Check out the Atlanta Gladiators Statistics



ECHL Stories from February 28, 2015


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