ECHL Atlanta Gladiators

Gladiators Weekly

Published on January 24, 2011 under ECHL (ECHL)
Atlanta Gladiators News Release


Winning Ways: Gwinnett had a seven game streak of earning at least a point (5-0-1-1) snapped Sunday in a 2-1 loss to Greenville. Still the Gladiators are 5-3-2 in January after going 2-11-1 in December.

Comeback Kids: As of two weeks ago, the Gladiators (19-18-7) were winless when trailing entering the third period. In four straight games from 1/11-1/17 however they mounted third period comebacks to either tie or take the lead as part of their regulation unbeaten streak.

Call ups Continue: Forwards Andy Brandt and Michael Forney were both called up to the AHL last week. Forney played a game for Chicago before returning to Gwinnett in time for Sunday ‚¬â„¢s game, but Brandt is still up in Manitoba, where he has two assists in three games so far.

Forney on Fire: With a goal in Sunday ‚¬â„¢s 2-1 loss, Forward Michael Forney now has a five-game point streak and has six goals an seven assists in ten January games. He will represent the Gladiators in the ECHL All-Star Game this week in Bakersfield, CA.

It ‚¬â„¢s Miller Time: Forward Tim Miller is off to a hot start to the New Year. In the nine of the ten games Gwinnett has played in 2011, Miller has six goals and seven assists. After going 13 games without a goal earlier this season, he now has 14 goals (nine assists) in his last 20 games.

Streak Snapper: Forward Pat Galivan has also stepped up since the start of January. He snapped a 20-game scoreless drought in a big way on 1/14, racking up a hat trick to go along with an assist in the Glads 8-6 win over Greenville. Since going pointless in the first three games of the month, he has four goals and nine assists in his last seven games.

Welcome Back: Goaltender Billy Sauer made his first start on Sunday since December 22nd in Florida, a span of 14 games. Sauer ‚¬â„¢s last start was cut short after he was ejected for fighting Blades goalie Bobby Goepfert in a Gwinnett loss.

Coming Full Circle: Rookie forward Justin Milo was in camp with the Gladiators early this season before being released. After two short stints in Alaska and South Carolina he was picked up off waivers by the Gladiators early this month and wasted no time making an impact. Milo had the first multi-goal game of his career, scoring twice in the first period in a January 8th 3-2 win over Greenville. Coincidentally, the first goal of Milo ‚¬â„¢s pro career also came in Gwinnett on December 3rd, but with Milo playing as a member of the Stingrays.

Leading the Pack: Forward Dan Kissel is 3rd among rookies with 134 shots on goal ‚¬Â¦ he also ranks 18th in rookie scoring (22 pts) ‚¬Â¦ Michael Forney is 7th in the league with 28 assists, and 15th with 39 points ‚¬Â¦rookie goaltender Chris Carrozzi is 5th in the league in minutes played (1,554) and leads rookie goalies in the category.

A Full 60 Minutes: The score after the first two periods has been crucial for the Gladiators this season. Gwinnett is a perfect 13-0-0-0 this season when leading after two periods of play but the Gladiators are 2-15-6 when trailing after two periods of play this season.

Iron Men: Andy Brandt was the only Gladiator to play in every game for the team this season up until Sunday, when he missed the game after being called up to Manitoba (AHL). One exception: Since being reassigned from Chicago (AHL) early in the season, 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 6th in the ECHL in penalty minutes (128) in just 39 games, and leads rookies by far in that category. The next closest rook on the list is Utah ‚¬â„¢s Marcus Carroll, who has 86 PIM in 43 games.

Last Week:

January 23rd, Gwinnett 1, Greenville 2 ‚¬" L The Arena at Gwinnett Center, Duluth, GA

The Gwinnett Gladiators fell short in a battle against the Greenville Road Warriors, 2-1 at the Arena at Gwinnett Center Sunday afternoon. After a scoreless first period the back and forth action continued into the second and it wasn ‚¬â„¢t until the 7:26 mark that the Road Warriors (26-14-2) opened the scoring with a goal from forward Shane Harper. The score remained 1-0 at the end of two. Gwinnett cut a 2-0 deficit to 2-1 on a Michael Forney tally, but that was as close as the Glads would get. Their seven-game streak of picking up at least a point was snapped in the loss, as was their four-game winning streak against Greenville.

January 17th, Gwinnett 5, South Carolina 6 ‚¬" SOL The Arena at Gwinnett Center, Duluth, GA

The Gwinnett Gladiators battled back late in the third period for the fourth straight game, but fell short in a shootout against the South Carolina Stingrays Monday afternoon at the Arena at Gwinnett Center. Trailing 5-2 in the third, the Gladiators (19-17-7) struck back at the 9:21 mark with a powerplay goal from Michael Forney who was set up by Pat Galivan and Sam Roberts. Forney now has 5 goals and 14 assists over his last 17 games.The Glads weren ‚¬â„¢t done yet, as Pat Galivan closed the gap to one putting home a rebound in front to bring Gwinnett within one in front of 5,540 on the annual Martin Luther King/Kids Day game. For the second straight game Gwinnet drew even in the last minute of regulation. After Stingrays forward Trent Campbell took a late high-sticking penalty, Tom Zanoski tied the score at five with a laser from the far point with only 55.3 seconds left in the third. Drew Paris and Galivan assisted on the tally. After a scoreless overtime Tommy Goebel and Rob Ricci scored the only goals in the shootout to give South Carolina the 6-5 win.

This Week ‚¬â„¢s Games:

Saturday January 29 @ Kalamazoo ‚¬" 7:30 p.m.

Sunday January 30 @ Kalamazoo ‚¬" 4:00 p.m.

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ECHL Stories from January 24, 2011


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