Harper Slays Glads in OT, 4-3
March 31, 2011 - ECHL (ECHL)
Atlanta Gladiators News Release
GREENVILLE, SC - Two goals late in the second period gave the Greenville Road Warriors a 3-2 lead into the third, but even with their playoff hopes dashed the Gwinnett Gladiators didn't quit.
Nearly halfway through the third the Gwinnett (30-32-8) evened the game. John-Scott Dickson snapped a nine-game scoreless streak with a beautiful point blank redirection between the legs of Chris Beckford-Tseu. Dickson's eighth of the season was assisted by Tim Filangieri and Devin Timberlake, and the score stayed tied into overtime.
Early in the OT session, Paul Flache was tripped along the far boards on the rush but referee Steve Patafie let it go. On the ensuing counter-attack Shane Harper potted his second goal of the night to give the Road Warriors the 4-3 win just 49 seconds into the extra period.
Greenville (44-22-4) takes over sole possession of first in the East with 92 points, one more than second-place Reading. The Glads have just three wins in their last 11 games.
Gwinnett went 2-for-4 on the powerplay while Greenville went 1-for-4. Chris Carrozzi made 26 saves in the loss while Beckford-Tseu stopped 29 of 32.
Michael Forney opened the scoring 6:47 into the first for Gwinnett, putting home a rebound from the slot on the powerplay to give the Glads the lead. Matt Duffy and Matt Francis had the assists.
Kyle Kucharski pushed the lead to 2-0 at 10:26, again on the powerplay, as he cashed in on a rebound in the low slot. Francis and Duffy again had the assists.
Greenville though battled back to make it a 2-1 game after one period, as Brandon Wong completed a backdoor setup with Shane Harper for his 21st goal of the season at 15:42.
The second period saw Greenville jump ahead late. Andrew Rowe found the back of the net at 17:56 on the powerplay and Shane Harper added a tally just 1:02 later to give the Warriors a 3-2 edge through 40 minutes.
Friday at 7:35 p.m. the Gladiators host Greenville at the Arena at Gwinnett Center for their 2010-11 home finale and Fan Appreciation Night.
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