ECHL Atlanta Gladiators

Gladiators Weekly Update

Published on February 2, 2009 under ECHL (ECHL)
Atlanta Gladiators News Release


A Milestone: Gladiators defenseman Jeff Mason notched his 25th career ECHL goal in the Gladiators 3-2 overtime win over the South Carolina Stingrays on Tuesday night. Mason entered the Season with 20 career goals and has now added 5 goals on the year for the Gladiators. The defenseman is 12 points shy of 100 career points in his ECHL career.

Jumping In: The Gladiators acquired forward Tom Zanoski from the Dayton Bombers on January 30th in exchange for future consideration. Zanoski made an immediate impact for the Gladiators posting an assist in his first game with Gwinnett in a 3-2 loss to the Charlotte Checkers. He then followed that up with a goal in the Gladiators 3-2 overtime loss to the Florida Everblades on January 31st. In two games with the Gladiators, Zanoski has two points from a goal and an assist.

Breaking the Drought: Forward Pat Bateman posted his first goal in over a month in the Gladiators 3-2 overtime loss to the Florida Everblades. Bateman, who had been without a goal in 15 games dating back to December 19th, broke his longest drought between goals this season. Previously, the longest Bateman had been between goals was five games. The Calgary, Alberta native is having a career year with the Gladiators as he has posted 11 goals and 18 assists for 29 points this season for Gwinnett.

Backstop: Gladiators netminder Joe Fallon continues to see a lot of rubber between the pipes for the Gladiators. Fallon set a career best for most saves in a game making 49 in a 3-2 overtime win over South Carolina on January 27th. Fallon bested his previous career high of 46 saves posted on January 24th against the Florida Everblades.

Up to the AHL: Defenseman Jean-Claude Sawyer was called up to the Rockford IceHogs and American Hockey League on January 31st. Sawyer returned to the AHL where he has skated in 14 games this season for the IceHogs posting 3 goals and an assist. In 12 games with Gwinnett, Sawyer has a goal and 4 assists for 5 points.

One Goal Affair: The Gladiators skated in their 21st one goal game in a 3-2 overtime loss against the Florida Everblades on January 31st. For the Gladiators, it was their seventh one goal loss of the season as Gwinnett is 10-7-4 this season in one goal games. The Gladiators first loss in a one goal game came against the Charlotte Checkers in a 1-0 loss on November 23rd. Gwinnett was 5-1-4 in their first 10 one-goal games.

In overtime: The Gladiators notched their second overtime win of the season defeating the South Carolina Stingrays 3-2 on January 27th. Gwinnett posted a 4-3 overtime win over the Dayton Bombers on November 19th for their first overtime win of the season. The overtime win at South Carolina was the first road overtime win for Gwinnett since a 4-3 win over the Reading Royals on February 17th of 2008.

Kids Replica Jersey Night: Saturday, February 7th is Kids Replica Jersey night at The Arena at Gwinnett Center as the Gladiators host the Charlotte Checkers. The first 1,500 kids ages 12 and under get a Gladiators Replica Jersey at the game courtesy of Kroger, Kicks 101.5, Charter, & The Gwinnett Daily Post.

Last Week's Games:

January 27th, Gwinnett 3, South Carolina 2 - OTW

Adam Berti notched the game winning goal 2:18 into overtime on the power play to lift the Gladiators over South Carolina. Gwinnett took a 1-0 lead late in the first on Jordan Fox's 15th goal of the season while Jeff Mason's 5th goal of the year in the second period gave Gwinnett a 2-0 lead after two periods. South Carolina got a pair of quick goals early in the third to send the game to overtime before Berti notched the game winner for Gwinnett. Dirk Southern finished with a pair of assists in the win while Brennan Turner, Pat Bateman, Mike Looby and Matt Siddall each finished with a helper in the win. Joe Fallon set a new career high for most saves in a game notching 49 in the win. It was the third straight start for Fallon setting a new career high for saves.

January 30th, Charlotte 3, Gwinnett 2 - L

Gwinnett never led in the contest and could not overcome the one goal deficit in the 3-2 loss against Charlotte. The Checkers opened the scoring with just one second left in the first but Gwinnett answered 47 seconds into the second on Matt Siddall's 9th goal of the season. Charlotte answered two minutes later to take a 2-1 lead into the second intermission. The Gladiators again tied the game, this time at 8:53 of the third on Dirk Southern's 3rd goal of the season. Charlotte again answered, this time four minutes later for what proved to be the game winner. Josh Johnson finished with 29 saves in the losing effort for Gwinnett. Gwinnett got assists from Brennan Turner, Jordan Fox, Tom Zanoski and Pat Bateman in the loss.

January 31st, Florida 3, Gwinnett 2 - OTL

Florida jumped out to a 2-0 lead on the Gladiators with a pair of first period goals. Gwinnett cut the lead in half before the first intermission on Tom Zanoski's first goal as a Gladiator with 16 miunutes gone by in the opening stanza. Gwinnett tied the game half way through the second on Pat Bateman's 11th goal of the season. After a scoreless third period, Florida notched the game winner half way through the overtime period on a power play for the win. Gwinnett was 0-for-9 on the power play in the loss while Joe Fallon made 37 saves in the losing effort for Gwinnett. Adam Berti, Brennan Turner, Jeff Mason and Josh Engel each had an assist in the loss.

This Week's Games:

Wednesday, February 4th @ Mississippi Sea Wolves, 8:05 p.m. - wdun.com

Gwinnett has not faced the Sea Wolves since a 4-3 loss December 29th at the Arena at Gwinnett Center. Gwinnett is 5-5-1 against the Sea Wolves so far this season and the Gladiators are 3-3-1 at the Mississippi Coast Coliseum. Brad Schell has 14 points from 6 goals and 8 asssits to lead Gwinnett in scoring against the Sea Wolves this season.

Thursday, February 5th @ Charlotte Checkers, 7:05 p.m. - wdun.com

Saturday, February 7th vs. Charlotte Checkers, 7:05 p.m. - wdun.com

Gwinnett is 3-3-1 against the Checkers after dropping a 3-2 decision to the Checkers on January 30th. Gwinnett has not lost back-to-back games agaisnt the Checkers this season while neither team has won consecutive games in the season series. Pat Bateman leads the Gladiators in scoring against the Checkers this season with 4 goals and 5 assists for 9 points in 7 games this season.

Gwinnett returns to action on Wednesday, February 4th as they travel to Mississippi to take on the Sea Wolves at 8:05 p.m. at the Mississippi Coast Coliseum.

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.

Check out the Atlanta Gladiators Statistics

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ECHL Stories from February 2, 2009


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.

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