ECHL Atlanta Gladiators

Gladiators Weekly Update

Published on March 1, 2010 under ECHL (ECHL)
Atlanta Gladiators News Release


Streakers: Four Gladiators have a three-game point streak including Sam Roberts (0-5-5); Tim Miller ( 2-3-5); Dan Sullivan (1-2-3); and Michael Forney (3-2-5). Forward Matt Francis has a season-high four-game point streak with four goals and two assists for six points.

Break out the Broom: With the Gladiators' 6-4 victory over the Toledo Walleye on Saturday, the Gladiators swept the three-game season series between the teams with a combined score of 16-8.

3-Pointer: Defenseman Nick St. Pierre had three assists in the Gladiators 6-4 victory over Toledo on Saturday night for his first professional 3-point game.

Special Teams: The Gladiators continue to own the American Conference's best power play unit, scoring 62 man-advantage goals in 278 chances, good for 22.3%. The Gladiators also own the league's best power play on road ice with a 23.4% success rate, while also owning the league's best road penalty kill unit with 87.4% of penalties killed off.

Breaking Through: In his 27th game this season, defenseman Sean Hurley notched his first point of the season, a goal in the second period of the Gladiators' 4-3 overtime loss to Kalamazoo last Wednesday.

Blueliners: Sam Roberts leads all rookie defensemen with 34 points, while Drew Paris is second with 33.

Northern Exposure: Gwinnett is 6-5-1-0 against teams in the North Division.

Winning Month: The Gladiators finished February with a 6-5-1-0 record.

Staying Ahead: With 58 points through 56 games, the Gladiators are two points ahead of their point total from this point last season, when they owned a 25-25-6 record and had 56 points through 56 games.

Last Week's Games: - February 24, Kalamazoo 4, Gwinnett 3 - OTL

Michael Forney scored his second shorthanded goal against the Wings this season within the final minute of the first period for a 1-0 Gladiators lead, but Kalamazoo had two goals early in the second period to take a 2-1 lead. Sean Hurley then scored his first goal of the season and Dan Sullivan restored the Gladiators' one-goal lead at 12:31 of the second, but Kalamazoo's Sam Ftorek again tied the game at 18:48 of the second. A scoreless third led to overtime, where Jon Landry sealed the win for the Wings with his 6th goal of the season at 2:28 of the extra frame. Danny Taylor made 27 saves in the loss, and the Gladiators went 1-for-5 on the power play.

- February 26, Kalamazoo 4, Gwinnett 3 - L

Kalamazoo got out to a 2-0 lead in the first period before Tim Miller cut that lead in half with a goal at 16:37 of the period. Kalamazoo then scored twice more in the second period to take a 4-1 lead before Scott Mifsud cut into that lead to make it 4-2 with his 14th goal of the season at 17:10 of the middle frame. Matt Francis scored the only goal in the third, to bring the Gladiators to within one, but it wasn't enough, as the Wings held on for the final three minutes for the second straight 4-3 victory over the Gladiators.

- February 27, Gwinnett 6, Toledo 4 - W

Five different skaters scored goals for the Gladiators, including a power play marker from Michael Forney, to open up a 5-0 lead into the second period before Toledo scored the next three to cut the lead to 5-3. Forney notched his second power play goal at 7:40 of the third to restore a 3-goal lead. Toledo's Scooter Smith then scored his second goal of the night for the Walleye with less than two minutes remaining to cap the scoring, as the Gladiators won for the third time against the Walleye this season, sweeping the season series. Danny Taylor made 30 stops in net for the win.

This Week's Games:

Thursday, March 4th @ Florida Everblades - 7:30 p.m. - WDUN.com

Friday, March 5th @ Florida Everblades - 7:30 p.m. - WDUN.com

Saturday, March 6th @ Florida Everblades - 7:30 p.m. - WDUN.com

The Gladiators sit in 10th place in the American Conference but are just one point out of a playoff spot, as they continue a 6-game road stretch which took them North to Michigan and now brings them South to Florida for three games in three days against South Division rival and last year's regular season league champion Florida Everblades.

Check out the Atlanta Gladiators Statistics

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ECHL Stories from March 1, 2010


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