ECHL Atlanta Gladiators

Gladiators Upend Florida

Published on November 6, 2009 under ECHL (ECHL)
Atlanta Gladiators News Release


The Gwinnett Gladiators Returned to the Arena at Gwinnett Center in winning fashion as they hosted South Division rival Florida Everblades on Friday night. The Gladiators posted a convincing 4-1 victory in a solid performance to remain in a tie for first place in the division.

Despite the Gladiators' heavy pressure early on in the contest, the Florida Everblades broke a scoreless tie 5:17 into the first frame when Rob Hennigar took a pass from Kevin Baker and let a shot loose from the right corner as he entered the zone and beat Gwinnett goaltender Danny Taylor through traffic high on the blocker side to give the Everblades the early 1-0 edge.

But the Gladiators shot early and often and would pull even with a power play goal midway through the frame, extending their power play goal streak to eight straight games. Rookie defenseman Sam Roberts scored his first goal of the season, tipping in a quick pass from Brad Schell on the backdoor. Scott Mifsud also picked up an assist on the play. At the end of the first period, the Gladiators had a dominating 12-6 advantage in shots.

The Gladiators took a 2-1 lead with their second power play goal of the game just 2:06 into the second period as Tom Zanoski notched his fifth goal of the season, beating Florida goaltender Mike Morrison with a snipe on the near side from the right face-off dot. Assists on the power play goal were credited to Adam Berti and Chris Zarb.

The Gladiators were able to stay perfect on the penalty kill in the game, as they staved off two big Florida man advantages in the second, with Danny Taylor coming up with several big saves on the kills.

After two periods, Florida was able to pull even on shots at 24 going into the final frame.

Fan favorite, Dan Sullivan, gave the Gladiators a 3-1 advantage in his first home game after being resigned by the team last week, much to the delight of the 3,246-strong Friday night crowd. Calling for a shot from the point, Sullivan redirected a hard wrist shot from defenseman Chad Denny through Florida net minder Mike Morrison at the 6:44 mark for his first goal of the season.

Finding themselves down 3-1 late in the contest, Florida began to pepper Danny Taylor with shot after shot in the closing minutes of the contest, and with less than two minutes remaining, pulled their own goaltender in favor of the extra man. But it was Taylor who stood tall between the pipes, and Scott Mifsud made it 4-1 as he potted an empty-net goal with less than a minute to play to ice the win for Gwinnett.

Taylor finished his big night with 44 saves on 45 Florida shots, including 21 in the third period, just two off the league mark for the season.

The Gladiators were two for eight on the power play, and continued their dominance on the penalty kill, stoning the Everblades on all seven of their chances.

With his three assists on the night, Gwinnett captain Brad Schell extended his assist streak, which now stands at 15 helpers through eight games.

The Gladiators move to 5-1-1-1 on the season, while the Everblades fall to 4-5-1-1. With the win, the Gladiators remain tied for first in the South Division with the South Carolina Stingrays, as each team posted victories on the night.

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ECHL Stories from November 6, 2009


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