ECHL Atlanta Gladiators

Gladiators Weekly Update

April 10, 2006 - ECHL (ECHL)
Atlanta Gladiators News Release


Here Come the Playoffs! Although the Gladiators will not know their opponent for their second round playoff series until the two South Division Quarterfinal series are complete, the Gladiators know their home dates for the Division Semi-Final series. Gwinnett will host Game 1 on Saturday, April 15th at 7:35 p.m. while Game 2 will be on Sunday, April 16th at 4:05 p.m. Game Five (if necessary) of the series is scheduled for Sunday, April 23rd at 4:05 p.m. The three teams that the Gladiators could play in the series are the Charlotte Checkers, South Carolina Stingrays or the Augusta Lynx. The ECHL will re-seed according to regular season point totals following the opening round series.

A Lot of Wins! The Gladiators closed out the 2005-06 regular season with a 5-3 win over the Augusta Lynx on Saturday night. The win was the Gladiators 50th win of the season as the Gladiators finished the regular season with a 50-15-7 record on the season. Gwinnett becomes the third team this season to post 50 wins joining the Alaska Aces and Las Vegas Wranglers and the 9th team in ECHL history to have 50 or more wins in a season.

On the Power Play. The Gladiators spent much of Friday night against the South Carolina Stingrays on the power play. Gwinnett had 21 power play opportunities in the contest and posted all five goals in the 5-1 win on the power play. It was the third time this season that the Gladiators posted five power play goals in a game and the 34th time this year Gwinnett recorded two or more power play goals in a game.

On the Plus Side: Forward Brad Schell finished the 2005-06 season ranked first on the Gladiators with a plus/minus ranking of +32. His +32 was also good for fourth overall in the ECHL despite missing the Gladiators last three games. Schell finished two plusses shy of tying the Gladiators team record for best plus/minus in a season behind Jim Jackson who accumulated a +34 during Gwinnett's inaugural 2003-04 season.

One Shy: The Gladiators recorded seven power play goals in their final two games of the regular season to finish first overall in the ECHL on the power play converting on 24.1% of their man advantage opportunities this year. Gwinnett posted 114 power play goals on the season finishing one goal shy of tying the ECHL record of 115 power play goals set by the Nashville Knights during the 1995-96 season.

A Natural! Gladiators defenseman Steve Slaton posted a hat trick in the Gladiators 5-3 win over the Augusta Lynx on Saturday night. It was the first hat trick of Slaton's professional career. The hat trick was the Gladiators ninth three-or-more goal game of the season and the third hat trick of the year by a Gladiators defenseman. The nine hat tricks this season by the Gladiators is a new team record for most hat tricks in one season by the team.

Last Week's Games:

April 4th, Florida 3, Gladiators 0 - L

The Gladiators were shutout for just the third time this season as Florida used two power play goals and a shorthanded goal to get by Gwinnett for the shutout win. Scoreless after the first, the Everblades scored both power play goals in the second period and added the shorthanded tally with a little under three minutes left in the third period. Gwinnett went 0-for-7 on the power play in the loss as the Gladiators have only posted one power play goal in their last 27 chances on the man advantage. Adam Berkhoel made 22 saves in the loss for Gwinnett.

April 7th, Gladiators 5, South Carolina 1 - W

The Gladiators scored all five goals in the win on the power play. Gwinnett had 21 power play chances in the win while South Carolina posted 88 penalty minutes in the game. Jon Awe had the game's first goal 39 seconds into the second before South Carolina tied the game up midway through the second. Steve Slaton got the game winner 31 seconds in to the third. Troy Milam, Milan Gajic and Scott Mifsud all scored later in the period for Gwinnett. South Carolina's Davis Parley played spectacular for the Stingrays in the first period to keep the game scoreless through the opening period. Jeff Campbell had three assists in the win while Mifsud collected two assists in the win.

April 8th, Gladiators 5, Augusta 3 - W

The Gladiators closed out the 2005-06 regular season with a 5-3 win over the Augusta Lynx for their 50th win of the year. Steve Slaton finished with a natural hat trick and the game winner for the Gladiators. Gwinnett jumped out to a 1-0 lead on a goal by Brian Teixeira but Augusta went into the locker room after one period up by a 2-1 score after scoring two shorthanded goals in the final two minutes of the period with the two goals coming within a minute of each other for the lead. In the second period, Slaton posted his hat trick while Jeff Dwyer rounded out the scoring for Gwinnett with his 7th goal of the season. Augusta scored before the close of the second for the final scoring of the game. Adam Courchaine, Adam Smyth and Derek Nesbitt each finished with 2 helpers in the win.

Upcoming Games:

Saturday, April 15th, Game 1: Division Semi-Finals, 7:35 p.m. - wdun.com

Sunday, April 16th, Game 2: Division Semi-Finals, 4:05 p.m. - WDUN, News Talk 550

Sunday, April 23rd, Game 5 (if nec.) Division Semi-Finals, 4:05 p.m. - wdun.com

The Gladiators open the Division Semi-Finals against the lowest remaining seed following the Division Quarterfinal series that will conclude on Wednesday, April 12th. Greenville leads the best of three series against the Augusta Lynx 1 game to 0 following a 2-1 win on Sunday. Charlotte is at South Carolina tonight for the first game of their Division Quarterfinal series. Of the teams playing in the Quarter-Finals, Gwinnett cannot face Greenville in the Division Semi-Finals as they are the #3 seed and would play the #2 seed Florida Everblades if they won their series against Augusta.

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.

Check out the Atlanta Gladiators Statistics



ECHL Stories from April 10, 2006


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