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ECHL Atlanta Gladiators

Gladiators Weekly

December 27, 2010 - ECHL (ECHL)
Atlanta Gladiators News Release


Holiday Hustle: Coming off the Christmas break the Gladiators (12-14-5) will play four games this week; three at home against Wheeling and one on the road in South Carolina. This continues a nine game in 13 day stretch for Gwinnett.

Bah Humbug: The Gladiators (12-14-5) are winless in the month of December (0-10-1), sandwiching two five-game losing streaks around an overtime loss in Greenville on 12/17.

Heat Check: Forwards Tim Miller and Michael Forney had four-game point streaks snapped Sunday against South Carolina, but both players continue to produce. In 11 games this month Miller has five goals and three assists, while Forney has one goal and three assists in his last five games.

Iron Men: Tim Miller and forward Andy Brandt are the only Gladiators to play in every game for the team this season. One exception: Since being reassigned from Chicago (AHL), Michael Forney has appeared in every game for Gwinnett after missing the first four this year.

Paq-Man Packs a Punch: Rookie forward and Thrashers prospect Danick Paquette is 3rd in the ECHL in penalty minutes (93) in just 26 games, and leads rookies by far in that category. The next closest rook on the list Idaho's Kael Mouillierat with 54 PIM in 27 games. Paquette has also been filling up the score sheet of late, with two goals in his last three games.

Dancing Goalie: Gladiators netminder Billy Sauer dropped the gloves after skating 200 feet to pull Florida netminder Bobby Goepfert off a teammate in the Gladiators 6-2 loss to the Florida Everblades on December 22nd. Sauer is the first Gladiators goaltender since Dan Turple to fight in a game, ironically, Turple's fight came against the Florida Everblades, also at the Germain Arena back on March 28, 2008. Craig Kowalski, who replaced Turple, dropped the gloves but never fought the Everblades backup, Kevin Nastiuk, in the game. Both were assessed leaving the crease minor penalties.

A First: Gladiators forward Drew Akins notched his first professional point as he picked up an assist in a 6-2 loss at Florida on 12/22. Akins assisted on Andy Brandt's marker at 6:02 of the first period.

Wisconsin Wonder: Rookie Forward Aaron Bendickson ranks 12th in the league in points among rookies. He has 17 points (five goals, 12 assists) in 22 games (he missed seven games after being called up to Rochester).

Team Leader: Michael Forney leads the Gladiators with 23 points (five goals, 18 assists) in 27 games this season. 11 of those 23 points have come on the powerplay (2 G, 9 A). Forwards Derek Nesbitt and Ryan Garbutt, who were both called up to the AHL in mid-November, still rank 2nd and 3rd on the team in scoring.

A Rare Lead: The Gladiators took a 1-0 lead just 58 seconds into their game on Sunday at home against South Carolina thanks to an unassisted goal from Danick Paquette. It was the team's first lead in a game since December 3rd, when Gwinnett took a 1-0 lead on South Carolina at home on a goal by defenseman Matt Krug.

A Full 60 Minutes: The score after the first two periods has been crucial for the Gladiators this season. Gwinnett is a perfect 9-0-0-0 this season when leading after two periods of play but the Gladiators are 0-12-0-4 when trailing after two periods of play this season.

Last Week:

December 26th - Gwinnett 2, South Carolina 6 - L The Arena at Gwinnett Center, Duluth, GA

The Gwinnett Gladiators extended their winless streak to 11 games at the Arena at Gwinnett Center Sunday night with a 6-2 loss against the South Carolina Stingrays. The Glads opened the scoring just 58 seconds into the first period with an unassisted goal from forward Danick Paquette. This would mark his 7th of the year. South Carolina responded with four unasnwered goals in the second however and didn't look back. Aaron Bendickson had the Gladiators other goal late in the second on the powerplay.

December 22nd - Florida 6, Gwinnett 2 - L Germain Arena, Estero, FL

The Gladiators looked to rebound the following night but fell behind the Everblades by a 2-0 score after the first period. Andy Brandt got the Gladiators back within a goal just 6:08 into the second period. Gwinnett and Florida exchanged three goals within two minutes of each other in the second with Florida taking a 4-2 lead. Tim Miller scored for Gwinnett with his 8th goal of the season. Following the Everblades goal, a line brawl broke out which included netminder Billy Sauer and Florida goaltender Bobby Goepfert engaged in a goaltender fight. After everything was sorted out, Gwinnett ended up shorthanded 5-on-3 and the Everlblades scored to make it 5-2 and then added the final goal of the game in the third for the 6-2 win. Gwinnett went 0-for-5 on the power play while the Everlbades went 1-for-6 on the man advantage.

December 21st - Florida 4, Gwinnett 2 - L Germain Arena, Estero, FL

The Gladiators scored their first goal in the first period since December 11th but the Gladiators could not hold on in a 4-2 loss to the Everblades in the second trip of the season to the Germain Arena. Florida took a 1-0 lead before Danick Paquette equalized the contest at 9:52 of the opening period. Florida rattled off the next three goal to take a 4-1 lead but Michael Forney collected his 7th goal of the season to get Gwinnett within a pair of goals but the Gladiators could get no closer. Gwinnett went 0-for-3 on the power play while the Everblades were held scoreless on eight chances on the man advantage.

This Week's Games:

December 28th vs. Wheeling - 7:05 p.m.

December 29th vs. Wheeling - 7:05 p.m.

December 31st vs. Wheeling - 6:05 p.m.

January 2nd @ South Carolina - 4:00 p.m.

This Week's Opponents:

This week the Gladiators will host the Wheeling Nailers in the last three meetings of the season between the two teams. Wheeling beat Gwinnett twice by a combined score of 15-5 the last time the two teams met earlier this month in Johnstown, PA. Gwinnett will also travel to South Carolina on Sunday to face the red-hot Stingrays, winners of five in a row.

This Week's Promotions:

Two-For-Tuesday (Dec 28th)

2-For-1 Tickets (Selected Seating), 2-For-1 Hot Dogs, 2-for-1 Popcorn & 2-for-1 Tater Tots.

New Year's FREEZE (Dec 31st)

Usher in the New Year with the Gladiators! After Gwinnett's game against the Wheeling Nailers, enjoy a concert put on by Grammy-nominated rock band DecembeRadio.

Check out the Atlanta Gladiators Statistics



ECHL Stories from December 27, 2010


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