ECHL Atlanta Gladiators

Gladiators Rally Past Stingrays

Published on November 13, 2009 under ECHL (ECHL)
Atlanta Gladiators News Release


The Gwinnett Gladiators used two late third period goals and two shootout tallies to record a come-from-behind win over the South Carolina Stingrays Friday night in front of a season-high crowd of 10,583. The Gladiators trailed for much of the contest, but late game heroics from Drew Paris and goaltender Danny Taylor would secure the victory in the fourth straight overtime game against the Stingrays.

The game began as a bit of a sleeper, as much of the first period was played in the neutral zone, when neither team could sustain much offensive pressure. Only a South Carolina power play would provide a chance for either team to test the other's defense. Matt Fornataro got the Stingrays on the board first at 6:02 after Sam Roberts went off on a holding call. Accepting a pass from Gregg Johnson, Fornataro walked in unchallenged from the point and picked out the top left corner of the net with a high wrist shot, beating Gwinnett goaltender Danny Taylor on the blocker side to give the Stingrays a 1-0 lead.

The rest of the period saw both teams struggling to complete passes and break into their respective offensive zones, and they combined for just 16 shots on goal in the first 20 minutes.

The second period saw much of the same sloppiness of the first, but as the South Carolina Stingrays took their fourth straight penalty when Nikita Kashirski served Stingrays' goaltender Braden Holtby's roughing major the Gladiators began to click, registering a couple near misses down low in the slot. But still, the Gladiators struggled to solve Holtby and settled for the 1-0 deficit at the end of the frame, despite a fifth straight power play opportunity.

Shots after the second period were 21-16 in favor of Gwinnett.

The third period looked as if it were headed for more of the same, but with 6:39 left in regulation, the Gladiators would finally solve Holtby with a shot from Aaron Brocklehurst at the right point. Brocklehurst took a pass and fired a heater over the right shoulder of Holtby to tie the game at at one. But South Carolina would restore their lead just 1:27 later when Danny Taylor had trouble with a Michael Dubuc shot from the left circle, and the puck trickled across the goal line after Taylor made the initial save.

It again appeared that the Gladiators were destined for their second straight home regulation loss, as the seconds were ticking off in the closing minutes of the contest. But with Danny Taylor pulled and an extra man skating for the Gladiators, a Drew Paris shot from the slot found the back of the net through a traffic jam in front of Braden Holtby with just 36 seconds left on the clock to tie the game at two, much to the approval of the remaining 5,000 or so fans. The final half minute would tick off the clock without incident, and the contest moved into overtime for the fourth straight overtime contest between the two teams.

The five-minute overtime period would solve nothing, and the contest moved into a shootout, the second between the teams this season.

Scott Mifsud and Patrick Galivan would each score in the shootout, while Danny Taylor stood tall between the pipes, stopping all four of South Carolina's shots to preserve the come-from-behind victory for Gwinnett.

Brad Schell was just 6:39 away from seeing his season-long assist streak come to an end, but instead he recorded assists on each of the Gladiators' two late goals, to up his total to a league-leading 18 on the season.

The Gladiators did, however, end their steak of power play goals, going zero for five in man advantages, the first time they were held with out a power play goal all season.

Danny Taylor finished with 26 saves and four in the shootout for the win, and Braden Holtby stopped 35 for the Stingrays in the shootout loss.

The Gladiators move to 6-2-1-1 on the season, good for 14 points in the standings and make up one point on the Stingrays, who lead the South Division with 20 points. while South Carolina drops to 8-2-1-3.

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ECHL Stories from November 13, 2009


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