ECHL Atlanta Gladiators

Gladiators Weekly Update

Published on March 16, 2009 under ECHL (ECHL)
Atlanta Gladiators News Release


Hat Trick! Forward Matt Siddall notched the first hat trick of the season for the Gladiators in Gwinnett's 6-3 win over the Florida Everblades on March 15th. The hat trick is the first of Siddall's professional career and the first hat trick for the Gladiators at home since March 8th of last season when Chad Painchaud posted three goals for Gwinnett against Augusta.

Career High: Jeff Mason notched a pair of goals for the Gladiators in Gwinnett's 6-4 loss at South Carolina on March 13th. With the pair of goals, Mason set a new career high for goals in a season with 12 surpassing his previous career high of 11 set with the Long Beach Ice Dogs during the 2006-07 season. Mason currently has 12 goals and 19 assists for 31 points in 60 games this season for Gwinnett.

Season High: Gladiators forward Matt Siddall notched four points for the Gladiators in a 6-3 win against Florida on March 15th tying a Gladiators season high for most points in a game. He matched Pat Bateman's 4 points (2g, 2a) posted on November 22nd and Adam Hobson's 4 points (1g, 3a) posted on January 8th. Siddall's 3 goals is also a season high for Gwinnett.

Signed: The Gladiators signed defenseman Brandon Gentile on March 13th and joined the Gladiators from Michigan State University in time for the Gladiators 6-4 loss at South Carolina that night. He finished a +1 for Gwinnett in a 4-3 loss at Charlotte on March 14th. Gentile posted three assists and 81 PIM in 38 games with the Spartans this year. The Clarkston, Mich. native skated four seasons with the Spartans appearing in 135 games and collecting 16 assists and 176 PIMs in his collegiate career.

Power Play: The Gladiators notched three power play goals in a 6-4 loss at South Carolina on March 13th. It was the first time that the Gladiators notched three power play goals in a game since posting three in a 4-3 win at Charlotte on February 5th. The three power play goals was also the 11th time this season that the Gladiators have notched multiple power play goals in a game while Gwinnett now has 12 multiple power play goal games this year.

Helpers: Tom Zanoski tied a career high for assists in a game collecting two in the Gladiators 6-4 loss at South Carolina on March 13th. The two assists tied his original career high for most assists in a game set with Stockton in a 6-2 loss at Idaho on January 31, 2008.

Back in the Line Up: Brandon Kaleniecki returned to the Gladiators line up this week. He skated in his first game with Gwinnett since January 8th at South Carolina in a 4-1 loss at Charlotte on March 10th. Since returning to the Gladiators line up, Kaleniecki has added an assist in each of the Gladiators last two games on March 14th and 15th and now has 7 goals and 7 assists in 24 games this season.

Spongebob! Spongebob Squarepants will be at the Gladiators game on Saturday, March 28th when the Gladiators host the South Carolina Stingrays at The Arena at Gwinnett Center. Spongebob will be on hand at the game courtesy of Charter Communication.

Adult Cap Giveaway: The first 1,500 adults to the Gladiators game on Saturday, March 28th when the Gladiators host the South Carolina Stingrays at The Arena at Gwinnett Center at 7:05 p.m. will receive a Gladiators cap at the game. The adult cap giveaway is courtesy of RaceTrac.

Last Week's Games:

March 10th, Charlotte 4, Gwinnett 1 - L

Matt Ford scored twice on the power play in the first period to help the Checkers past the Gladiators. Gwinnett got back within a goal at 4:36 of the third period on Tom Zanoski's 8th goal of the season. Pat Bateman and Andy Brandt had assists on the marker. Charlotte posted a pair of goals later in the third to put the contest away. Josh Johnson made 28 saves in the losing effort.

March 13th, South Carolina 6, Gwinnett 4 - L

Gwinnett got a pair of goals from Jeff Mason and goals from Pat Bateman and Matt Siddall but could not get past the Stingrays. South Carolina led 1-0 and 2-1 before Gwinnett took a 3-2 lead into the first intermission. South Carolina took a 4-3 lead in the second with a pair of goals. Mason tied the game at 4-4 with his second of the game but South Carolina added a pair of goals late including an empty net goal. Bateman finished with a goal and two assists in the loss. Fallon made 36 saves in the losing effort while both teams went 3-for-8 on the power play in the contest.

March 14th, Charlotte 4, Gwinnett 3 - L

Gwinnett couldn't hold a pair of one goal leads in the contest as Gwinnett led 1-0 and 2-1 before Charlotte took a 3-2 lead in the second. Gwinnett tied the game at 3-3 in the second but Charlotte scored just 32 seconds into the third for the win. Gwinnett got goals from JC Sawyer, Brennan Turner and Andy Brandt in the loss. Brandon Kaleniecki, Tom Zanoski, Dirk Southern, Matt Siddall and Adam Berti all had assists for Gwinnett. Dan Turple made 28 saves in the losing effort for Gwinnett.

March 15th, Gwinnett 6, Florida 3 - W

Matt Siddall notched the first hat trick of the season for Gwinnett and the first hat trick of his career to help lift the Gladiators past division leading Florida. After a scoreless first period, Gwinentt took a 3-0 lead on the Everblades in the second on a pair of goals by Siddall and the third of the period from Dirk Southern. Florida got on the board in the third before Mike Looby pushed Gwinnett to a 4-1 lead. Florida, however, got back within one with a pair of goals just 66 seconds apart in the third period. Siddall completed the hat trick with a shorthanded goal at 13:17 of the period and Pat Bateman added an empty net goal for Gwinnett with just 12 seconds left in the third period to put the game away. Joe Fallon made 39 saves in the win. Gwinnett went 2-7 on the power play in the victory. Adam Berti and Jordan Fox each finished with a pair of assists in the win.

This Week's Games:

Wednesday, March 18th @ Cincinnati Cyclones, 7:30 p.m. - WDUN, Newstalk 550

Thursday, March 19th @ Cincinnati Cyclones, 7:30 p.m. - WDUN.com

Gwinnett battles the Cincinnati Cyclones for the first time in team history. Gwinnett is 3-2-0 against the North Division this season but all five games have come at home at The Arena at Gwinnett Center.

Saturday, March 21st @ Dayton Bombers, 7:30 p.m. - WDUN.com

Sunday, March 22nd @ Dayton Bombers, 5:05 p.m. - WDUN.com

Gwinnett is 2-0-0 against the Bombers this season after a pair of wins at The Arena at Gwinnett Center. The Gladiators posted one of their seven 2-goal come from behind victories on the Bombers on November 19th and also knocked off Dayton 4-2 on November 21st. Gwinnett is led in scoring against the Bombers by Pat Bateman who has 2 goals and 2 assists for 4 points in two games this season.

Gwinnett returns to action on Wednesday, March 18th as they travel to Cincinnati to take on the Cyclones at 7:30 p.m. at the US Bank Arena.

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 March 16, 2009


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