ECHL Atlanta Gladiators

Gladiators Roll Past Charlotte, 5-2

Published on December 10, 2004 under ECHL (ECHL)
Atlanta Gladiators News Release


In his second start with the Gladiators, Sean Fields made 24 saves while Chris Durno tallied two goals to help the Gladiators steamroll past the Checkers 5-2 on Friday night in front of 8,246 at the Arena at Gwinnett Center.

Charlotte used a deflection off the stick of Mike Wirll in front of Gladiators netminder Sean Fields to take a 1-0 lead 2:53 into the first period. Curtis Menzul added an assist on the goal as the defenseman took the initial shot from the right wing point off a feed from Lee Falardeau.

Chris Durno got things going for the Gladiators as he was able to flip the puck over Checker's netminder Alex Westlund for Gwinnett's first goal at 12:44 of the opening period. Rick Emmett was able to pick up a loose puck in the neutral zone and roll it along to Brett Engelhardt streaking in the zone with Durno.

Gwinnett took a 2-1 lead 31 seconds later as Cam Brown jammed a loose puck in the slot past Westlund. Brad Schell took a whack at the puck to pick up an assist while Lane Manson also had a helper as he threw the puck to the front of the net to set up the play.

Mike Vigilante pushed the Gladiators lead to 3-1 with his 11th goal of the season. The Dearborn, Michigan native took a rink-wide pass from Peter Flache and streaked down the left wing wall and slipped into the slot and beat Westlund for the tally. Jeff Campbell also picked up an assist on the goal at 13:38 of the opening period.

Durno's second tally of the night gave the Gladiators a 4-1 lead with 3:08 left in the opening period. Durno took a backhand pass from Engelhardt and slid the puck past Westlund for the goal. Kris Goodjohn also had a helper on the tally.

Charlotte cut into the Gladiator lead 2:30 into the second period on Lee Falardeau's first goal of the night. Falardeau knocked the puck down and whacked it past Fields for the tally. Ryan Cuthbert added an assist on the goal.

Gwinnett clamped down defensively for the remainder of the second period while Brett Engelhardt put the game away at 8:03 of the final period with his 14th goal of the season. Kris Goodjohn took a pass from Durno and kicked the puck to Engelhardt to set up the goal.

With the win, the Gladiators improve to 12-4-4 on the season while they out-shot the Checkers 44-26.

The Central Division Champion Gwinnett Gladiators continue their second season at the Arena at Gwinnett Center on Friday, December 17th at 7:35 p.m. as they host the Columbia Inferno. The Gladiators offer several ticket packages for different needs as well as group outings, suites and birthday parties. For more information call 770-497-5100 or log on to www.gwinnettgladiators.com. The Gladiators play all 36 home games at the Arena at Gwinnett Center located on Sugarloaf Parkway in Duluth and are the AA affiliate of the Atlanta Thrashers.

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ECHL Stories from December 10, 2004


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