ECHL Atlanta Gladiators

Gladiators Weekly Update

January 9, 2009 - ECHL (ECHL)
Atlanta Gladiators News Release


In a Shootout! The Gladiators notched their first shootout win of the season as they knocked off the South Carolina Stingrays on Thursday night. It was the Gladiators first shootout win since January of last year. The Gladiators are now 1-4 in shootouts this season.

A career high: Adam Hobson tied a career high for most points in a game as he collected 4 in the Gladiators 5-4 shootout win over the South Carolina Stingrays on January 8th. Hobson posted a goal and three assists for the Gladaitors in the win tying the four points he collected while with Fresno in a 6-5 overtime win over Bakersfield on December 12th.

Called Up! Forward Jordan Fox was called up to the Manitoba Moose of the American Hockey League on Tuesday. He becomes the second player called up from the Gladiators to Manitoba this season joining Dirk Southern. Fox led the Gladiators in scoring at the time of his recall as he has notched 33 points in 32 games this season with the Gladiators.

Between the Pipes: Netminder Joe Fallon recorded his second win of the season with Gwinnett as he notched a 5-4 shootout win over South Carolina on Thursday night. Fallon is now 2-0-0 with Gwinnett and has posted a 2.40 goals against average and a .911 save percentage in his two starts. Fallon ranks 13th overall in the ECHL among netminder with a 2.54 goals against average in 15 ECHL games this season.

Another Winner: Travis Fuller collected his team tying second game winning goal of the year for the Gladiators in Friday's 5-3 win over the Charlotte Checkers. Fuller joins Bruce Graham, who has been traded to Bakersfield, Matt Siddall and Jordan Fox for the team lead in game winning goals this season as all four have notched 2 game winning goals this season for Gwinnett.

Comeback! The Gladiators recorded their fifth 2-goal, come-from-behind victory of the season in a 5-3 win over the Charlotte Checkers on Saturday night. Gwinnett trailed 2-0 early in the second but tied the game at 2-2 before the end of the second period and then took the lead in the thrid before posting the win. Below are the Gladiators other 2-goal come-from-behind victories this season:

November 19: 4-2 win over Dayton

December 2: 3-2 win over South Carolina

Decmeber 14: 3-2 win over Mississippi

December 27: 3-2 win over Florida

January 9: 5-3 win over Charlotte

Teddy Bear Toss Night! The Gladiators 6th annual teddy bear toss night is Saturday, January 17th when the Gladiators host the Florida Everblades at the Arena at Gwinnett Center. Fans are encouraged to bring teddy bears to the game and toss them onto the ice following the Gladiators first goal of the game. All the teddy bears collected will be donated to local area children's charities. The Gladiators Teddy Bear Toss Night is presented by Hayes Chrysler, RaceTrac, The Gwinnett Daily Post, Star 94, Charter COmmunications and Fox 5 Atlanta.

Last Week's Games:

January 8th, Gwinnett 5, South Carolina 4 - SOW

Adam Hobson notched four points from a goal and 3 assists to help lead the Gladiators past the South Carolina Stingrays. Gwinnett opened up a 3-0 lead on the Stingrays with goals by Andy Brandt, Adam Hobson and Adam Berti before the midway point of the first period. South Carolina got one back before the end of the period but the Gladiators regained the three-goal lead on Dan Sullivan's 6th marker of the season midway through the second to give Gwinnett a 4-1 advantage. South Carolina cut the lead in half with 10 seconds left in the second and posted two third period goals to send the game into overtime. Gwinnett scored two shootout goals - Jeff Mason and Adam Hobson - while Joe Fallon was perfect in the shootout for the win. Fallon finished with 31 saves in the win for Gwinnett. Gwinnett went 2-for-8 on the power play in the win.

January 9th, Gwinnett 5, Charlotte 3 - W

The Gladiators overcame a 2-goal deficit for the 5th time this season as Gwinnett fell behind 2-0 early in the second period. Goals by Adam Hobson shorthanded and Jean Claude Sawyer on the power play tied the game before the end of the second period. Gwinnett took a 3-2 lead on Matt Siddall's 6th marker of the season but the Checkers answered to tie the game at three just a minute and a half later. Travis Fuller was able to regain the lead for the Gladiators at 16:33 of the third, scoring 35 seconds after the Checkers tying goal. Adam Berti notched another goal for Gwinnett at 18:13 of the third period to put the contest away for Gwinnett. Kevin Nastiuk posted 26 saves in the win breaking a 6-game losing streak for the netmdiner.

This Week's Games:

January 14th vs. Florida Everblades, 7:05 p.m. - wdun.com January 17th vs. Florida Everblades, 7:05 p.m. - WDUN, News Talk 550 The Gladiators notched their first win of the season against Florida in the last meeting between these two teams. Gwinnett overcame a two-goal deficit to post the win over the Everblades on December 27th. Gwinnett has been outshot in the series by a 20-5 margin as the Gladaitors are 1-4-0 this season against Florida.

The Gladiators return to action on Wednesday, January 14th as 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 21 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.

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ECHL Stories from January 9, 2009


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