ECHL Atlanta Gladiators

Gladiators Weekly Update

Published on April 3, 2006 under ECHL (ECHL)
Atlanta Gladiators News Release


Champions! The Gladiators clinched the American Conference and South Division regular season titles with Saturday's 4-3 win over the South Carolina Stingrays. Gwinnett currently ranks third overall in the ECHL behind the Las Vegas Wranglers and the Alaska Aces for the top spot and the race for the Brabham Cup. Gwinnett now has 103 points on the season and is two wins shy of 50 wins on the year.

On the Road: The Gladiators closed out the 2005-06 regular season road schedule this past weekend pushing a Gladiators team record for most road wins in a season to 21. The Gladiators set a new team record for roads wins in a year with their 19th in a 5-2 win at Pensacola on March 25th surpassing the previous franchise record of 18 set during Gwinnett's inaugural 2003-04 season and matched last season. Gwinnett has already set a new franchise record for home wins in a season and still has 3 regular season games at the Arena at Gwinnett Center this year.

Tying a Record: Forward Guillaume Desbiens posted the only goal of the Gladiators 1-0 win over the Augusta Lynx on Thursday night. With the tally, Desbiens tied the Gladiators team record for most goals in a season matching Kevin Doell's original mark of 33 set during Gwinnett's inaugural 2003-04 season. Desbiens is now 12 goals shy of tying Mark Turner's franchise record of 45 for most goals in a season set with the Mobile Mysticks during the 1999-2000 season.

Blanking: Netminder Adam Berkhoel posted his first shutout of the season in the Gladiators 1-0 win over the Augusta Lynx on Thursday night. Berkhoel becomes the third Gladiators netminder this season to record a shutout joining Tuomas Tarkki and Sean Fields while his shutout was the fifth of the season for the Gladiators. For Berkhoel, it was his third professional shutout as he collected two last season for the Gladiators.

Half a Dozen: Scott Mifsud became the sixth player this season with the Gladiators to record 20 goals on the year. He posted his 20th goal in the Gladiators 4-3 win at South Carolina on Saturday night. Mifsud joins Guillaume Desbiens (33), Milan Gajic (24), Derek Nesbitt (26), Jeff Campbell (30) and Brad Schell (23) at 20 or more goals on the year.

Playoffs! The Gladiators earned a bye in the 2006 Kelly Cup playoffs and will open the South Division Semi-Finals (second round) on Saturday, April 15th at 7:35 p.m. with Game 2 of the series on Sunday, April 16th at 4:05 p.m. The remaining dates as well as the Gladiators opponent of the best-of-five series have both yet to be determined.

Sonic Spring Break Game: Tuesday, April 4th when the Gladiators host the Florida Everblades at 7:05 p.m. is the Gladiators Sonic Spring Break Game. Fans can get 4 selected premium level tickets and 4 Sonic Burger meals with tots for only $48. This offer is only available at the Arena at Gwinnett Center Box Office.

Last Week's Games

March 30th, Gwinnett 1, Augusta 0 - W

The Gladiators surpassed the century mark in points with the win beating the Augusta Lynx off of Guillaume Desbiens tally at the 14:34 mark of the third period. Desbiens' goal tied a Gladiators team record for most goals in a season as it was his 33rd of the year. Adam Berkhoel made a handful of highlight reel saves to record his first shutout of the season and improve to 10-2-1 on the year. John Awe and Brad Schell posted the assists in the win for Gwinnett, the Gladiators first win in Augusta this season.

March 31st, Augusta 6, Gwinnett 2 - L

The ECHL's top-ranked power play unit was held off the scoreboard for the second consecutive night as the Gladiators went 0-for-7 on the power play. Gwinnett fell behind 4-0 before Brian Teixeira got Gwinnett on the board with 2 seconds left in the second period. Augusta regained the 4 goal lead 55 seconds into the third before Matt York got the Gladiators back within three. The Lynx rounded out the scoring with just 1:30 left in the third. Adam Berkhoel made 31 saves in the loss for Gwinnett. Milan Gajic, Jon Awe and Joel Stepp had assists in the loss for Gwinnett.

April 1st, Gwinnett 4, Augusta 3 - W

Gwinnett scored three goals within three minutes of each other to take a commanding 3-0 lead after the opening period to help the Gladiators to the 4-3 win. Scott Mifsud scored the Gladiators first power play goal in three games to open the scoring midway through the first. Cam Brown and Danny Eberly had Gwinnett's other two goals as they all came about a minute apart. South Carolina scored early in the second to get on the board and then later in the period to cut the lead to one before Milan Gajic scored what proved to be the game winning goal about 60 seconds after South Carolina's second goal. The Stingrays added a third goal early in the third but could get no closer. Matt York finished with 2 assists as the Gladiators clinched the American Conference and the South Division with the win.

This Week's Games:

Tuesday, April 4th, vs. Florida Everblades, 7:05 p.m. - WDUN, News Talk 550 (tent.)

The Gladiators are 6-2-2 this season against the Everblades entering the last regular season meeting of the year. Gwinnett is 3-0-1 at home against Florida with the Gladiators dropping the last meeting at the Arena at Gwinnett Center in a shootout. Jeff Campbell, who is currently in AHL Lowell, has a team high 5 goals against Florida.

Friday, April 7th, vs. South Carolina Stingrays, 7:35 p.m. - wdun.com

With his 20th goal of the year in last Sunday's 4-3 win over the Stingrays, Scott Mifsud leads the Gladiators in goals against South Carolina with five on the year. The Gladiators are 5-3-0 against the Stingrays this season and a combined 12-8-1 against South Carolina since relocating to Gwinnett from Mobile.

Saturday, April 8th, vs. Augusta Lynx, 7:35 p.m. - wdun.com

Gwinnett closes out the regular season for the second consecutive season against the Lynx. Gwinnett won last year's regular season finale against the Lynx by a 3-2 score in Augusta. The Gladiators are 3-0-1 against Augusta at the Arena at Gwinnett Center winning the last meeting on home ice 5-1 on December 29th.

The Gwinnett Gladiators, who have already clinched a first round bye in the 2006 Kelly Cup Playoffs, continue the 2005-06 ECHL season at the Arena at Gwinnett Center on Tuesday, April 4th as they host the Florida Everblades at 7:05 p.m. 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 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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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.

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