ECHL Atlanta Gladiators

Gladiators Weekly

Published on November 29, 2010 under ECHL (ECHL)
Atlanta Gladiators News Release


South Division Showdown: The Gladiators have three big games this week against division rivals starting on Thursday when they head to Greenville to face the second place Road Warriors. The Gladiators then host South Carolina on Friday, before again hosting Greenville on Sunday.

ECHL's Best: Gwinnett (12-4-0-4 - 28 pts) leads the ECHL in points through their first 20 games. Greenville is one point back as of Monday through 19 games, and Elmira is two back. This is one of the best starts in Gladiators team history, but the Glads did one-up themselves by going 13-4-3 to open their first season in Gwinnett.

No Rest for the Weary: Gwinnett wrapped up a seven game in nine day stretch last Sunday with a 5-2 win over Toledo. The team went 4-2-0-2 over the stretch.

No Goals for You: Gwinnett's goaltenders were stellar over the last week. Chris Carrozzi made three starts in a row at one point, recording the team's first home shutout since October 2006 last Tuesday and recording a 112 minute shutout streak. Billy Sauer came right back had a 32-save shutout in South Carolina on Friday, before making 36 saves in Saturday's win over Toledo. Sauer went over 85 minutes without allowing a goal during that span.

Forney's on Fire: Forward Mike Forney had two assists on Sunday, giving him at least one point in 10 of the Glads last 13 games.

Kiss Army: Glads forward Dan Kissel had a breakout game Sunday, scoring twice (including the eventual game-winner) and adding two more assists to bump his season point total to 12 in 17 games.

Welcome Back Franny: Matt Francis made his return from the IR on Thanksgiving, and picked up his first point back in the lineup when he assisted on Andy Brandt's goal in a 1-0 win over South Carolina on Friday. Francis missed eight games with an injured shoulder.

It's Miller Time: Gwinnett forward Tim Miller broke a 13-game scoreless drought on Thanksgiving Thursday with two goals; one short-handed and one on the powerplay. He had two goals in the Glads first four games of the season, but had been held off the scoresheet since taking a high-stick to the face in Trenton, losing three teeth, and having to wear a protective full cage. His first game without that cage since early in the season was on Thursday.

Streak Snapped: Gwinnett killed off 34 opposing powerplays in a row until Evan Rankin scored on the man advantage with just 48 seconds remaining in the game on Sunday. The Gladiators now rank third in the league on the PK with an 88% kill rate.

Power Outage: The Glads are just 3-for-36 since November 19th on the powerplay, although they did score the first goal of the game Sunday against Toledo on the PP. The Gladiators are 8th in the ECHL converting 18.4% of their powerplay chances.

Strong Seconds: The Glads have outscored opponents 24-10 in the second period this season, and when leading after two periods the Glads are 8-0-0-0.

Last Week's Games:

November 27th - Gwinnett 5, Toledo 2 - W

The Gwinnett Gladiators won 5-2 in a rematch against the Toledo Walleye Saturday night at the Arena at Gwinnett Center. This was Glads seventh and final game in a nine day stretch. Dan Kissel had two goals and two assists, including the eventual game-winner, and Billy Sauer made 36 saves for his second win in a row.

November 26th - Gwinnett 1, South Carolina 0 - W

Billy Sauer stopped all 32 shots he faced, including a late flurry from South Carolina in the third period of a 1-0 Gladiator win Friday night at North Charleston Coliseum. After a defensive, scoreless first two periods the Glads (11-4-0-4) started the third on the powerplay. As the man advantage expired Andy Brandt took a pass from Matt Francis and beat goalie Shane Connelly with a low wrist shot from the far circle to give Gwinnett a 1-0 lead just 1:16 into the period.

November 25th - Gwinnett 2, Toledo 3 - SOL

In a close match-up Thursday night the Gwinnett Gladiators suffered a 3-2 shootout loss to the Toledo Walleye in front of 4,412 in their eighth annual Thanksgiving night game. The Gladiators are now 3-3-0-2 all-time on Turkey Day. Tim Miller broke a 13-game scoreless drought with two goals, one short-handed and one on the powerplay. Toledo drew even in the second period, and won on a Kyle Rogers tally in the eighth round of the shootout. The Glads are now 1-4 in shootouts this season.

November 23rd - Gwinnett 2, South Carolina 0 - W

The Gwinnett Gladiators picked up their first home shutout since October 2006 Tuesday night in a 2-0 win against the South Carolina Stingrays at the Arena at Gwinnett Center. Forward Ian McKenzie put the Gladiators on the board at the 6:42 mark with hammering home a deflection off a defender's skate for his second of the year. The back and forth action continued into the third period until Aaron Bendickson added another goal for the Gladiators increasing the lead to 2-0. Danick Paquette set it up with a behind the back pass and Pat Galivan also received an assist on the play.

This Week's Games:

December 2nd, @ Greenville - 7:05 p.m.

December 3rd, vs. South Carolina - 7:35 p.m.

December 5th, vs. Greenville - 4:05 p.m.

This Week's Promotions:

Sing for Santa Weekend

Due to overwhelming demand, the Gladiators Annual Sing for Santa Holiday Concert has been extended to two dates. Join local choirs from Gwinnett County schools as they sing Christmas and Holiday Classics at the Game during the intermission on Friday, December 3rd, 2010. Over 1,000 kids making up 18 different elementary schools will be participating in the event. It's one of the most unique minor league sports events in the business.

This Week's Opponents:

The Gladiators will again face the South Carolina Stingrays on Friday after shutting them out the last two times the teams met. The Stingrays were actually held scoreless for three games in a row before finally finding the back of the net in a 3-2 win over Toledo on Sunday. This will be the seventh meeting of the season with the Rays after the two teams split the first six.

The week also features two showdowns with the Greenville Road Warriors, the second place team in the South Division. Greenville has won four games in a row and eight of their last ten overall. The last team to beat them was the Gladiators, 2-1 back on November 21st.

This Week's Practice Schedule:Practices at the IceForum in Duluth are open to the general public. Arena at Gwinnett Center practices are not open to the general public. Media members wishing to attend practice at the Arena should contact the Gladiators PR staff at 770-497-5106 to facilitate building access. Monday: OFF

Tuesday: 10:30-12:30 p.m. - Arena

Wednesday: 10:30-12:30 p.m. - Arena

Thursday: 10:30-12:30 p.m. - Arena

Friday: 10:30-12:30 p.m. - Arena

Saturday: 10:30-12:30 p.m. - Arena

Sunday: No Pre-game Skate

The Gladiators are the AA affiliate of the Atlanta Thrashers and play all home games at the 11,355-seat Arena at Gwinnett Center, located just off I-85 on Sugarloaf Parkway in Duluth.

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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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