Sports stats

ECHL Atlanta Gladiators

Gladiators Weekly Update

November 1, 2010 - ECHL (ECHL)
Atlanta Gladiators News Release


The Last Unbeaten: The Gladiators are the only team left in the ECHL who has yet to lose in regulation this season (5-0-0-2). The Glads are also tied with Wheeling for most points in the league at 12 despite playing one less game than the Nailers.

No Rest for the Weary: Tonight's game is the fourth in five days for Gwinnett. The team had Sunday off after spending over 30 hours in the bus over the weekend traveling to Trenton and Elmira.

The Last Time Out: The Gladiators jumped out to a 4-1 second period lead and held on late for a 4-3 win over the Elmira Jackals in a battle of the remaining two unbeaten teams in regulation in the ECHL. Chris Poli scored twice, and Derek Nesbitt added a goal and two assists while Chris Carrozzi (35 saves) stood tall in the third to preserve the win.

Record Setters: Gwinnett bombarded Trenton netminder Dave Caruso to the tune of 70 shots Friday night, setting a new ECHL record for most shots in a single game. Caruso stopped 68 of them in a Gwinnett shootout win.

Now THAT'S a Penalty Kill: The Gladiators completely shutdown the opponent's powerplay over the weekend. Trenton and Elmira went just 1-for-24 on the man advantage against the Glads, with the lone PP goal coming late in the first period of Saturday's game against the Jackals. Trenton went 0-for-16 combined between Thursday and Friday.

League Leader: Veteran forward Derek Nesbitt was the ECHL Player of the week for October 18th to the 24th, scoring five goals, adding an assist, and a plus-seven rating in the Gladiators two wins. The 28-year old had a goal and two assists Saturday to push his league leading point total to 12 (six goals, six assists) in seven games.

Stepping Up: Gladiators forward Ryan Garbutt is off to a hot start to the season, registering nine points (five goals, four assists) in just six games as of Monday.

Krug is Clutch: Matt Krug, last season's IHL defenseman of the year, was a +2 and scored the clinching goal in the last round of the shootout Friday at Trenton after being a healthy scratch the night before.

Wisconsin Wonder: Rookie forward Michael Davies made his pro debut and scored a second period goal to open up a 3-1 Gladiator lead last Friday against South Carolina. The former Badger had an assist in each of the Gladiator's games this week against Trenton as well and is third on the team with five points (one goal, four assists) in five games this season.

The Puck Stops Here: Chris Carrozzi continues to excel between the pipes for the Gladiators. The 20-year old rookie started in both wins Friday and Saturday for Gwinnett, stopping a combined 74 of 79 shots. The Thrashers prospect is now 4-0-0-1 this season with a 2.13 GAA and a .935 SV%.

Pol-Eye of the Tiger: Forward Chris Poli went the first four games of the season without a point, but came alive against his former team. Poli played two excellent games in Trenton, scoring a goal in Friday's contest before adding two more on Saturday against Elmira. Last season with the Devils Poli accrued 39 points (13 goals, 26 assists) in just 36 games.

Home Sweet Home: With their 6-2 win over the Stingrays last Friday in their 2010-2011 home opener Gwinnett is now 159-80-31 all time at the Arena at Gwinnett Center, and 6-0-2 in home openers.

Coincidence?: After the season opening shootout loss in Florida on 10/15, the Gladiators are now 6-0-2 all time in the first game of a season. Prior this year, the only other blemish on the Gladiators season opening record was a 1-0 shootout loss to the Charlotte Checkers during the 2005-2006 season when the Gladiators advanced to the Kelly Cup Finals.

Last Week's Games:

October 28th, Gwinnett 2, Trenton 3 (SO - L)

Ryan Garbutt scored two goals but the Gladiators fell in the first of a three game trip Thursday night, 3-2 in a shootout to the Trenton Devils. The Gladiators (3-0-2) trailed 2-1 going into the final 20 minutes, but Garbutt beat goaltender Dave Caruso with a wrister from the high slot for his fourth goal of the season to tie the game at the 2:45 mark.

October 29th, Gwinnett 3, Trenton 2 (SO - W)

Coming into Friday night's game at the Sun National Bank Center, the Gladiators were 0-for-8 in shootout tries. Rookies Michael Davies and Matt Krug quickly changed that, helping seal a 3-2 shootout win for Gwinnett. The Gladiators (4-0-2) took a 2-0 lead into the third, but Tony Zancanaro (7:21) and J.S. Berube (14:39) brought the Devils (2-4-0) even. Dave Caruso stood on his head for much of the game, stopping 68 of 70 shots for the Devils. It took several point blank short-handed stops from the former Gladiator netminder in overtime to force the shootout. The 70 shots from Gwinnett set a new ECHL single game record.

October 30th, Gwinnett 4, Elmira 3 (W)

Chris Poli scored twice, and the Gladiators withstood a late third period push by the Elmira Jackals Saturday night, hanging on for a 4-3 win on the road at First Arena.Gwinnett (5-0-0-2) is now the only team in the ECHL to not have a regulation loss.A.J. Perry scored two third period goals for Elmira (3-1-2-0) to cut a three-goal deficit down to one, but Gwinnett held on late and Chris Carrozzi (35 saves) made several big saves down the stretch to preserve the win.

This Week's Games:

Nov. 1st, vs. South Carolina - 7:05 p.m. - North Georgia's News Talk AM 550 & FM 102.9 WDUN

Nov. 5th, @ Greenville - 7:05 p.m. - WDUN.com

Nov. 6th, vs. Greenville - 7:05 p.m. - North Georgia's News Talk AM 550 & FM 102.9 WDUN

Nov. 7th, vs. Greenville - 4:05 p.m. - North Georgia's News Talk AM 550 & FM 102.9 WDUN

The Gladiators battle South Carolina for the second time this season and the second time at the Arena at Gwinnett Center. The Gladiators won the first meeting, a 6-2 win at the Arena at Gwinnett Center in the Gladiators home opener and the Stingrays' season opening on October 22nd. The Gladiators will then play three straight against their closest rival, the Greenville Road Warriors. This weekend marks the first matchup between the two squads this year.

Check out the Atlanta Gladiators Statistics



ECHL Stories from November 1, 2010


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.

Other Recent Atlanta Gladiators Stories



Sports Statistics from the Stats Crew
OurSports Central