ECHL Atlanta Gladiators

Gladiators Stumble Against Nailers

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


A hard fought battle between the Gladiators and the Nailers came down to just one goal, as the Nailers defeated Gwinnett by a final score of 3-2. After trailing by two goals towards the end of the third period, the Gladiators were able to even the score heading into the second intermission. Aaron Clarke scored 3:39 into the third to break the tie for the Nailers, and doomed the Gwinnett to a 3-2 loss on the evening.

Much like what was seen between Wheeling and Gwinnett on Friday night, the focus for both teams was taking care of the defensive zone in the first period. The Gladiators fired 12 shots on goal, and the Nailers recorded 13 of their own in the period. Each team also went 0-1 on the power play during the first period of play.

Scoring opened up between the two squads in the second period, with Kevin Schmidt providing the first marker of the game. While on the power play, Schmidt found himself wide open in front of the Gladiator's net. After getting a pass from Chris Capraro, Schmidt found a hole by the left post and gave the Nailers a 1-0 lead.

The Nailers would strike again once more on the power play a few minutes later. Mitch Ganzak controlled the puck on an offensive zone draw, and blasted a shot through traffic. Aaron Clarke was there to tip a shot between the legs of Brown for the Nailers second goal of the game.

However, the Gladiators would come storming right back 1:02 after the Nailers took the 2 goal lead. Matt Francis took a pass from Mike Bayrack and swung the puck towards the net with Michael Forney in front of the net. Forney tipped the shot on net and squeezed it through the pads of Brad Thiessen for the Gladiators first goal.

Less than 2 minutes later the Gladiators would strike again, this time on the Applebees power play. Zanoski got the puck on the far side of the ice, walked in from the half boards, and snapped a shot past the shoulder of Thiessen.

Unfortunately it would be the last goal the Gladiators would score in the game. Aaron Clarke added his second goal and third point of the game 3:39 into the period. Blair Yaworski fired a slap shot with a mad scramble in front of the Gladiators' net and Clarke tipped it in past a sprawling David Brown.

The Gladiators suffered their first regulation defeat on the road of the year, and fell to 13-8-2-1 overall. The Nailers improved to 12-13-1-1.

Check out the Atlanta Gladiators Statistics

Share: Facebook | Twitter/X | LinkedIn | Reddit | Email



ECHL Stories from December 13, 2009


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