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ECHL Atlanta Gladiators

Gladiators Weekly Update for the Week of April 28th

April 28, 2008 - ECHL (ECHL)
Atlanta Gladiators News Release


To A Close: The Gwinnett Gladiators closed the 2007-08 season and the 2008 Kelly Cup Playoffs with a 2-0 loss to the South Carolina Stingrays in Game 5 of the Division Semifinals last Wednesday to drop the playoff series 3 games to 2. The Gladiators have now qualified for the post season in all five years the team has played in Gwinnett and has advanced past the first round four times.

Post-Season Leaders! Defenseman Jeff Mason finshed the 2008 Kelly Cup Playoffs with a pair of 2-goal games to lead Gwinnett in goals scored during the post-season. Mason's 4 goals was tops on Gwinnett while Guillaume Desbiens finished with a team high 9 points off of 3 goals and 6 assists for Gwinnett to lead the Gladiators in scoring in the playoffs. Desbiens, as well as Jeff Campbell, Brad Schell and Mike Hamilton all shared first in assists finishing with 6 helpers in the post season.

To the Lead! With three goals in the 2008 Kelly Cup Playoffs, Guillaume Desbiens now ranks first all time in post-season goals scored with 13. He moved one goal ahead of Chris Durno, who notched 12 goals in the playoffs during the 2004 & 2005 post-seasons combined, for the top spot. Desbiens recorded 10 goals for Gwinnett during the 2006 Kelly Cup Playoffs and entered the 2008 Kelly Cup Playoffs sharing 6th in that category.

Also at the Top! Jeff Campbell took over the top spot for most points scored all time in team post season history. The Hensall, Ontario native notched 6 points, all assists, for Gwinnett during the 2008 Kelly Cup Playoffs to overtake Jason Elders' 26 points and move into the top spot with 27 points in a post-season career. Campbell entered the 2008 Kelly Cup Playoffs ranked second all time in scoring with with 21 points. Brad Schell finished the 2008 Kelly Cup Playoffs with 7 points and now shares second overall with Jason Elders with 26 points. Schell entered this post-season with 19 points in 25 career post season games.

Sole Possession! Brad Schell moved into sole possession of first place for most assists in team post-season history. Schell entered the 2008 Kelly Cup Playoffs tied for first in that category with 16 assists with Troy Milam. Schell notched 6 assists this year in the playoffs to move into first place all time in team history with 22 assists in a post-season career.

Add Another! Gladiators netminder Craig Kowalski became the first netminder in Gladiators team history to notch a shutout in the playoffs recording 27 saves in a 4-0 first round win over the Charlotte Checkers. Kowalski matched the feat posting 31 saves in a 3-0 win over the South Carolina Stingrays on April 22nd for the second ever shutout in playoffs history for Gwinnett. The Gladiators have not shutout an opponent on the road in playoff history.

No Sweep! The Gladiators have yet to be swept in a playoff series in Gladitors team history. Facing a sweep for the second time in Gladiators history, Gwinnett avoided elimination and the sweep. The Gladiators trailed South Carolina 2 games to 0 but battled back winning the next two games to force a deciding Game 5 before falling 2-0 to the Stingrays. The only other playoff series the Gladiators faced a sweep was in the Kelly Cup Finals when they trailed the Alaska Aces 3-games-to-0 before winning 6-1 in Game 4 and forcing a Game 5 where the Gladiators eventually lost 4-3 to close the series out 4-games-to-1 in favor of the Aces.

Last Week's Games: April 18th, South Carolina 5, Gwinnett 2 - L Gwinnett led 1-0 and 2-1 but could not hold on in the 5-2 loss to the South Carolina Stingrays in Game 1 of the Division Semifinals. Jim Jackson and Ryan Mahrle scored for Gwinnett in the loss, both in the first period. South Carolina scored four straight for the win. Craig Kowalski notched 27 saves in the loss. Gwinnett went 1-for-4 on the power play in the contest. Matt Anderson, Tomas Pospisil and Jeff Campbell all had assists in the loss for Gwinnett.

April 19th, South Carolina 5, Gwinnett 4 - L (OT) Gwinnett gave up the overtime game winning goal at 8:06 of overtime to drop game 2 of the series and fall behind 2-0 in the best of five division semifinals. Gwinnett led 1-0 and 2-1 on goals by Guillaume Desbiens and Matt Anderson. South Carolina stormed back to take a 3-2 lead and a 4-3 lead on Gwinnett. Anderson's second goal of the game tied the contest at 3-3 early in the third while Tomas Pospisil's second goal of the post season tied the game at four with a little less than five minutes to play in the contest forcing overtime. Gwinnett dropped their first overtime game in the 2008 Kelly Cup Playoffs. Mike Hamilton finished with 3 assists in the loss while Ryan Mahrle and Desbiens each had helper in the loss. Craig Kowalski finished with just 19 saves in the losing effort. Gwinnett was held off the scoreboard on the power play for the first time in the post season.

April 21st, Gwinnett 4, South Carolina 1 - W Guillaume Desbiens and Jeff Mason each notched a pair of goals to help the Gladiators past the South Carolina Stingrays 4-1 and force a Game 4 of the Division Semifinals. Gwinnett scored first for the sixth consecutive playoff game late in the second period. South Carolina answered back with a marker of their own just 1:15 later to tie the game at one heading into the third period. Gwinnett notched three third period goals enroute to the win. Desbiens had the game winner 2:54 in to the third period while Mason pushed the lead to 3-1 with his second of the night and Desbiens collected his second of the game to round out the scoring. Gwinnett went 1-for-7 on the power play while Craig Kowalski notched 33 saves for the win for Gwinnett.

April 22nd, Gwinnett 3, South Carolina 0 - W Craig Kowalski recorded his second shutout of the postseason, making 31 saves and forcing a decisive Game 5 of the Division Semi-finals. Jamie Milam netted his second goal of the postseason 48 seconds into the second period and it proved to be all that Gwinnett would need in the contest. Jeff Campbell and Lou Dickenson got assists on the goal. Rookie defenseman Scott Marchesi scored his first professional goal at 11:44 in the second period to give the Gladiators some insurance. Bryson Busniuk added a goal of his own before the end of the second period to ice the game for Gwinnett. Gwinnett was 1-for-10 on the power play in the win.

April 23rd, South Carolina 2, Gwinnett 0 - L The Gwinnett offense was unable to crack South Carolina netminder Davis Parley in the final game of the series as the Stingrays walked away with a 2-0 win in the game and a 3-2 win in the series. South Carolina got on the board first with a goal from Mark Scherer just 2:53 into the first period. It proved to be the game winner as Gwinnett could not get on the scoreboard. South Carolina added an insurance goal from Travis Morin at the 11:00 mark of the second period and the Stingrays kept the Gladiators off the board for the rest of the contest to record the win and eliminate Gwinnett. Craig Kowalski made 23 saves for the Gladiators and Gwinnett went 0-for-4 on the power play.

This Week's Games: Season Complete

This Week's Practice Schedule: Season Complete

The Gladiators concluded their fifth anniversary season with a 2-0 loss to the South Carolina Stingrays in Game 5 of the Division Semifinals. Season tickets for the 2008-09 season are on sale now. Log on to gwinnettgladiators.com or call the Gladiators office at 770-497-5100 for more information.

Celebrating its 20th Anniversary as the Premier 'AA' Hockey League in 2007-08, the ECHL began in 1988-89 with five teams in three states and has grown to be a coast-to-coast league that has 25 teams in 17 states and British Columbia in 2007-08. The 25 teams includes the Mississippi (Biloxi) Sea Wolves, who return after missing two seasons in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, and the expansion Elmira (N.Y.) Jackals. The ECHL will play 900 games beginning Oct. 18 and concluding Apr. 5.

The Gwinnett Gladiators open their sixth season as a proud member of the ECHL in October of 2008 - season ticket packages are on sale now. In addition, the Gladiators offer several unique multi-game ticket packages as well as discounted group rates, suite rentals, and birthday parties. For more information call 770-497-5100 or log on to gwinnettgladiators.com.

The Gladiators are the AA affiliate of the Atlanta Thrashers and play all home games at the spectacular 11,355-seat Arena at Gwinnett Center, located just off I-85 on Sugarloaf Parkway in Duluth, where parking is always free.

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