ECHL Atlanta Gladiators

Gladiators Weekly Update

March 26, 2007 - ECHL (ECHL)
Atlanta Gladiators News Release


Seeing a lot of rubber: Gladiators netminder Dave Caruso made 45 saves for the Gladiators in Saturday's 4-3 loss at Texas. His 45 saves ranks third this season for most saves in a game by a Gladiators goaltender. Caruso set the Gladiators team record for most saves in a game posting 47 against South Carolina on November 24th. Dan Turple made 46 saves for the Gladiators the following night against Columbia to rank second all time on the Gladiators for most saves in a game.

Deep Impact! Brandon Kaleniecki made an impact as he returned to the Gladiators and collected a pair of goals for Gwinnett in Saturday's 4-3 loss at Texas. Kaleniecki had been on the injured reserve for over three months after sustaining an injury on December 1st in Dayton. For Kaleniecki, it was his second and third goals of the season.

More to 20: Andy Contois posted the only goal for the Gladiators in Friday's 2-1 loss at Texas. It was Contois' 19th goal of the season and the rookie looks to become the 8th player on the Gladiators with 20 or more goals this season. He would join Colton Fretter (35), Scott Mifsud (25), Brad Schell (25), Mike Vigilante (24), John Awe (23), Chad Painchaud (22) and Jamie Milam (21) with 20 or more goals this season. Blue Bennefield (16) is also within striking distance of 20 goals this season.

Half a Century: Chad Painchaud collected a pair of assists for the Gladiators in Saturday's 4-3 loss at Texas. For Painchaud, it was his 49th and 50th points of the year for the Gladiators rookie. Painchaud now has 22 goals and 28 assists for 50 points on the year. His 50 points currently ranks 6th in scoring on the Gladiators this season and is good for second among rookies in the ECHL, behind teammate Colton Fretter.

On the Power Play: The power play continues to be good to the Gladiators this year as Gwinnett posted a power play goal in Saturday's 4-3 loss at Texas. Gwinnett now has 112 power play goals on the year and continues on pace to set a new ECHL record for power play goals in a season. Gwinnett is just 3 power play goals shy of tying the ECHL record of 115 currently held by the Nashville Knights set during the 1995-96 season. The Gladiators need to average .5 power play goals over their final 6 games to tie the ECHL record for power play goals in a season.

Looking for A Career High: Gladiators defenseman Jim Jackson is just two points shy of tying a career high for points in a season. Jackson is looking for 33 points to tie his career high. Jackson posted 33 points with the Gladiators during his rookie campaign with Gwinnett during the 2003-04 season.

Playmaker: In addition to posting over 100 points this season, Brad Schell is currently on pace to tie the ECHL record for most assists in one season. Schell is currently 4th all time for most assists in one season passing Daryl Harpe's mark of 84 set during the 1988-89 season. Schell is on pace to finish the season with 93 assists which would tie current leader Dan Gauther, who had 93 assists with Knoxville during the 1990-91 season.

Team Trading cards, Set 2: The Gladiators second team trading card night of the season is scheduled for Saturday, March 31st when the Gladiators host the Pensacola Ice Pilots on the Your Best Rate Financial Home Ice at the Arena at Gwinnett Center at 7:35 p.m. The first 2,000 fans will receive the second set of Gladiators team trading cards at the game courtesy of the the Law Offices of Gary Martin Hays, Northstar Residential Properties, The Gwinnett Daily Post and 104.7 FM, The Fish.

American Cancer Society Weekend: Thursday, March 29th and Saturday, March 31st is American Cancer Society Weekend with the Gladiators presented by the Law offices of Gary Martin Hays & Associates. The festivities will include a Big Wheel 48 hour marathon and silent auction. All proceeds benefit Relay for Life and for more details, please visit iwillmakeadifference.com.

Last Week's Games:

March 23rd, Texas 2, Gwinnett 1 - L

Andy Contois scored Gwinnett's lone goal in the loss. It was his 19th of the season and tied the game at 1-1 late in the second. Texas took a 1-0 lead with a power play goal in the first period and posted the game winner five minutes into the third period for the win. Mike Vigilante and Scott Lehman had assists on Gwinnett's lone goal. Dan Turple recorded 33 saves in the loss for Gwinnett while the Gladiators went 0-4 on the power play in the loss.

March 24th, Texas 4, Gwinnett 3 - L

In his first game back after coming off the IR, Brandon Kaleniecki collected a pair of goals for the Gladiators. He got Gwinnett on the board in the first period while tying the game up at three in the second. Gwinnett, though, gave up a pair of power play goals in the loss, including the game winner early in the third period. Texas never trailed in the game and posted the win. Joel Stepp and Chad Painchaud each collected a pair of assists in the loss while Mike Vigilante and Andy Contois each had an assist in the loss. Gwinnett posted one goal on the power play to push their total to 112 on the season. Dave Caruso finished with 45 saves for the Gladiators, two saves shy of the team record for saves in a game, a record he set back in November.

This Week's Games:

Thursday, March 29th, vs. South Carolina, 7:05 p.m. - WDUN, News Talk 550

Gwinnett is unbeaten in regulation this season against the South Carolina Stingrays with a 6-0-1 record this year. The Gladiators are 3-0-0 at home against South Carolina with the last two meetings of the season series coming in Gwinnett. Brad Schell's 15 points leads all players in scoring in the season series.

Friday, March 30th, @ Columbia Inferno, 7:05 p.m. - WDUN, News Talk 550

Gwinnett is 7-1-1 against the Inferno this season and have won the last three meetings against Columbia. Gwinnett is 3-0-1 against the Inferno at the Carolina Coliseum although the Inferno won the last meeting in Columbia in overtime, 4-3 on March 8th. Dan Turple is a perfect 3-0-0 against the Inferno with a 1.00 goals against average and a shutout for Gwinnett.

Saturday, March 31st, vs. Pensacola Ice Pilots, 7:35 p.m. - WDUN.com

The home team has had the advantage in this season series with Gwinnett 4-0-0 on home ice and 2-2-0 at Pensacola this season. Gwinnett pulled to .500 on the road with a win at Pensacola on March 16th. Brad Schell has 17 points while Scott Mifsud has 14 points against The Ice Pilots this season. Following this meeting, Gwinnett will close out the regular season at Pensacola on April 7th.

This Week's Practice Schedule:

Practices at the IceForum in Duluth are open to the general public. Arena at Gwinnett Center practices are not open to the general public.

Monday: TBD

Tuesday: 10:30 a.m. - noon, Arena

Wednesday: 10:30 a.m. - noon, Arena

Thursday: Game vs. South Carolina

Friday: Game @ Columbia

Saturday: Game vs. Pensacola

Sunday: day off

The Gwinnett Gladiators continue their fourth season as a proud member of the ECHL as they host the South Carolina Stingrays on the Your Best Rate Financial Home Ice at the Arena at Gwinnett Center on March 29th at 7:05 p.m. Season tickets 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 on the Your Best Rate Financial Home Ice 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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ECHL Stories from March 26, 2007


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