ECHL Atlanta Gladiators

Gladiators Weekly Update

Published on November 10, 2008 under ECHL (ECHL)
Atlanta Gladiators News Release


Fire Away! The Gladiators continue to lead the ECHL in average shots on goal as they average 41 per game. The Gladiators collected 38 shots in Saturday's 4-0 loss at Florida and had a season high 51 in Monday's 6-2 loss to the Everblades.

From the A: Forward Dirk Southern was assigned to the Gladiators on Thurday from the Manitoba Moose of the American Hockey Leauge. In 5 games in the AHL this season, Southern notched a goal with Manitoba. He skated in the Gladiators 3-1 loss to Florida on Friday night.

Between the Pipes: Despite dropping a 4-0 loss to Florida on Saturday night, netminder Charlie Effinger helped his goaltending numbers as he lowered his goals against average to 5.50 while raising his save percentage from .767 to .843 after appearing in two games this season for the Gladaitors.

First of the Year! Gladiators defenseman Jeff Mason collected his first goal of the season for Gwinnett in Monday's 6-2 loss to the Florida Everblades. Mason currently has a goal and 4 assists for the Gladiators in 8 games with Gwinnett. Mason is now two points shy of 75 in his ECHL Career.

Closing in on 25: Forward Brandon Kaleniecki needs just one more goal for 25 in his professional career. The Livonia, Michigan native notched his 24th goal of his professional career in Friday's 3-1 loss to the Florida Everblades. Kaleniecki entered the season with 21 goals in two seasons with Gwinnett and Las Vegas. His three goals ranks second in that category this season with the Gladiators.

More Game Time: Despite sitting in last place in the ECHL's South Division with just 6 points on the season, the Gladiators have played the fewest games in the ECHL so far this season. Gwinnett has skated in just 8 games, the fewest number along with division rival South Carolina. Victoria leads the ECHL in games played having skated in 12 this season.

Hat Trick for Reading! The Gladiators Elementary Hat Trick for Reading Program sponsored by Suwanee Dental returns for the 2008-09 season. The Gladiators will be awarding elementary school children from Gwinnett County Public Schools who complete the program with a ticket to the Gladiators game on November 14th. Students from surrounding metro counties who complete the program will receive a ticket to the Gladiators game on November 15th. For more information on the Hat Trick for Reading Program contact the Gladiators office at 770-497-5100.

Team Photo Giveaway: Saturday, November 15th is the Gladiators team photo giveaway presented by the Printing Trade Company, Kroger, Coca-Cola and the AT&T Real Yellowpages. The first 2,000 fans will receive a Gladiators team photo at the game.

Last Week's Games:

November 3rd, Florida 6, Gwinnett 2 - L

Gwinnett jumped out to a 1-0 lead on the Florida Everblades but could not hold on in a 6-2 loss to the Everblades. Jeff Prough notched his second goal of the season to give Gwinnett a 1-0 lead but the Everblades equalized the contest before the end of the first period. Florida posted four goals in the second period while Jeff Mason's first goal of the season got the Gladiators back to 5-2 in the second period. The Everblades added a shorthanded goal in the third period to round out the scoring. Florida ended 3-for-9 on the power play while Gwinnett was 1-for-11 on the power play. Gwinnett outshot the Everblades 51-22 as Kevin Nastiuk finished with 16 saves for Gwinnett.

November 7th, Florida 3, Gwinnett 1 - L

Brandon Kaleniecki notched his third goal of the season for Gwinnett on the power play midway through the second period to cut into Florida lead but Gwinnett could get no closer. The Everblades opened up a 2-0 lead on the Gladiators earlier in the second period and added a goal later in the second to round out the scoring. Kevin Nastiuk notched 26 saves in the loss while the Gladiators scored on the power play in their 7th consecutive contest in the loss.

November 8th, Florida 4, Gwinnett 0 - L

The Florida Everblades shutout the Gladiators posting two goals in both the second and third period for the win. Gwinnett gave up a shorthanded goal in the second which gave Florida a 2-0 lead. The Everblades also snapped the Gladiators streak of consecutive games with at least one power play goal at seven as Gwinnett went 0-for-6 on the power play in the loss. Charlie Effinger notched 36 saves for Gwinnett in his second start.

This Weekend's Games:

Friday, November 14th, vs. Charlotte - 7:35 p.m. - wdun.com

The Checkers won the first meeting of the season between the two teams in a shootout on October 28th by a 4-3 score. The Gladiators are now 26-12-5 all time against Charlotte after the shootout loss. Charlotte is led in scoring by Matthew Ford who has 9 points in 5 games with the Checkers. The Checkers will make six more trips to the Arena at Gwinnett Center following this matchup.

Saturday, November 15th, vs. South Carolina - 7:05 p.m. - WDUN, News Talk 550

The Gladiators face the South Carolina Stingrays for the first time this season. Gwinnett will host the Stingrays a total of 8 times this season at the Arena at Gwinnett Center. The Gladiators are 24-11-3 all time against South Carolina during the regular season. Rookie Michael Dubuc leads South Carolina in scoring with 12 points on the season. His 12 points shares 3rd overall in the ECHL for most points by a rookie this season.

The Gladiators continue the 2008-09 season on Friday, November 14th as they host the Charlotte Checkers at the Arena at Gwinnett Center at 7:35 p.m.

Began in 1988-89 with five teams playing in four states, the Premier 'AA' Hockey League has grown into a coast-to-coast league that will have 23 teams in 16 states and British Columbia playing 864 games from Oct. 17, 2008 to Apr. 4, 2009. Eighteen of the 23 teams have played at least five years in their current city.

The third-longest tenured professional hockey league behind only the National Hockey League and the American Hockey League, the ECHL averaged 4,174 per game last season, marking the fourth year in row and the 16th time in the last 18 years that the league has averaged over 4,000 fans. The league has drawn over four million fans each of the last five years and 11 times in the past 12 seasons.

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.

Check out the Atlanta Gladiators Statistics

Share: Facebook | Twitter/X | LinkedIn | Reddit | Email



ECHL Stories from November 10, 2008


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.

OurSports Central