Sports stats



ECHL Atlanta Gladiators

Gladiators Weekly Update

November 24, 2008 - ECHL (ECHL)
Atlanta Gladiators News Release


That's Quick! Gladiators forward Brad Schell scored just 12 seconds into the Gladiators 5-2 win over the Mississippi Sea Wolves on Saturday night to set a new Gladiators record for fastes goal from the start of a game. Schell snapped the old record of 13 seconds set by Mike Vigilante against the Texas Wildcatters on 1/17/2005. Schell's marker was also the record for the fastest goal by the Gladiators from the start of a period.

Between the Pipes! Netminder Josh Johnson recorded his first win of the season as a Gladiator in Gwinnett's 4-2 win over the Dayton Bombers on Friday night. Johnson has now posted a 2-2-1 record while with the Gladiators this season and he has recorded a .929 save percentage and a 1.72 goals against average with Gwinnett after being acquired from South Carolina in a trade.

Three in a Row! The Gladiators won back-to-back games for the first time this season with wins over Dayton on Wednesday and Friday. Gwinnett then pushed its winning streak to three games with Saturday's 5-2 win over Mississippi. Gwinnett had not won back-to-back games this season entering this week's games.

Against the North! The Gladiators are a perfect 2-0-0 against teams from the North Division this season after a pair of wins over the Dayton Bombers this week. Gwinnett will face the North Division nine times this season as Gwinnett will head north for four games in March, host Elmira for a pair of games in December and see Trenton in March.

To 25! Bryan Esner collected his 25th professional goal in the Gladiators 4-3 overtime win over the Dayton Bombers on Wednesday. Esner entered the season with 24 goals after splitting time last season between South carolina and Pensacola. He now has 2 goals and 5 assists for the Gladiators since being acquired from the Phoenix Roadrunners at the beginning of the season.

Overcoming a Deficit: The Gladiators overcame a two goal third period deficit to knock off the Dayton Bombers on Wednesday. It was the first time the Gladiators were able to overcome a two-goal third period deficit since they knocked off the Florida Everblades by a 5-4 score on 3/26/08. Gwinnett trailed Florida 4-2 at 6:13 of the third period and came back to win. Gwinnett trailed the Bombers 3-1 at 18:24 of the second period and posted two goals in the third period to record the victory.

Thanksgiving Food Drive Night: The Gladiators annual Thanksgiving Food Drive night is again on Thanksgiving night, Thursday, November 27th when the Gladiators host the Augusta Lynx at the Arena at Gwinnett Center at 7:05 p.m. Fans can score a special food drive night offer when they donate a non-perishable food item; they can get 5 End Zone Level Tickets for only $25 or 5 Premium Level Tickets for only $50. Tickets must be purchased in blocks of 5 tickets to take advantage of this offer. Select seating only.

Last Week's Games:

NOVEMBER 19, GWINNETT 4, DAYTON 3 - OTW

Jordan Fox finished with two goals including the game winning overtime goal with 1:08 remaining in overtime to cap a two-goal come from behind win over the Dayton Bombers. Gwinnett trailed 3-1 after Dayton scored shorthanded late in the second period. Bryan Esner's 25th professional goal and Pat Pateman's fifth marker of the season tied the game up setting the stage for Fox's overtime heroics. Bateman finished with a goal and two assists while Kevin Nastiuk notched 22 saves in the win for Gwinnett. The Gladiators were held off the scoreboard for just the second time this season on the power play in the contest.

NOVEMBER 21, GWINNETT 4, DAYTON 2 - W

Pat Bateman notched his team leading 6th goal of the season while the Gladiators won consecutive games for the first time this season knocking off the Bombers. Gwinnett jumped out to a 2-0 lead on goals by Brad Schell and Bruce Graham. After Dayton cut the lead to 2-1, Bateman pushed the Gwinnett lead to 3-1. A power play goal by the Bombers, the first given up by Gwinnett in five games got Dayton back within a goal. Bryan Esner's 2nd goal of the season iced the contest for Gwinnett with a little under 5 minutes left in the third. Josh Johnson became the first netminder other than Kevin Nastiuk to record a win for Gwinnett this season. The Gladiators finished 2-for-7 on the power play in the win.

NOVEMBER 22, GWINNETT 5, MISSISSIPPI 2 - W

Pat Bateman posted a goal and three assists to help the Gladiators past the Mississippi Sea Wolves for the Gladiators third consecutive win. Brad Schell scored just 12 seconds into the game to set a new Gladiators record for fastest goal from the start of a game to give Gwinnett a 1-0 lead. Mississippi equalized the contest before the end of the first period. Gwinnett exploded for four goals in the second period to take a 5-1 lead on Mississippi. Matt Siddall collected two goals while Bryan Esner and Bateman each scored for Gwinnett. The Sea Wolves scored in the third for the 5-2 final. Dirk Southern had an assist to extend his assist streak to five games. Bateman's goal pushed his goal scoring streak to five games with his marker.

NOVEMBER 23, CHARLOTTE 1, GWINNETT 0 - L

Charlotte scored the only goal of the game on the power play late in the first period and held on for the win. Gwinnett finished with 31 shots in the loss while holding Charlotte to just 23 in the game. The Checkers went 1-for-6 on the power play while Gwinnett was 0-for-7 on the man advantage. Josh Johnson finished with 22 saves in the loss. Pat Bateman and Dirk Southern had their respective goal and point scoring streaks snapped in the shutout loss.

This Week's Games:

Tuesday, November 25th, vs. Florida Everblades, 7:05 p.m. - WDUN, News Talk 550

The Gladiators dropped three consecutive games against the Everblades at the beginning of November. All three losses were in regulation with the first at the Arena at Gwinnett Center and the last two at the Germain Arena in Florida. Gwinnett leads the all time regular season series against the Everblades with a 25-13-4 record.

Thursday, November 27th, vs. Augusta Lynx, 7:05 p.m. - WDUN, News Talk 550

Augusta won the only meeting this season between the two teams at the Arena at Gwinnett Center in a Shootout by a 3-2 score on October 21st. Gwinnett is 25-15-6 all time against the Lynx this season.

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. Media members wishing to attend practice at the Arena should contact the Gladiators PR staff at 770-497-5106 to facilitate building access.

Monday: 12:10 - 1:40, Ice Forum, Duluth

Tuesday: Game vs. Florida

Wednesday: 10:30 - noon, Arena at Gwinnett Center

Thursday: Game vs. Augusta

Friday: day off

Saturday: 10:30 - noon, Arena at Gwinnett Center

Sunday: 10:30 - noon, Arena at Gwinnett Center

The Gladiators are back in action on Tuesday, November 25th when they host the Florida Everblades at the Arena at Gwinnett Center at 7:05 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



ECHL Stories from November 24, 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