DULUTH - Derek Nesbitt notched two assists to bring his total to 28 on the season and climb closer to the league lead in assists and Jon Awe scored his third goal in the last two games, but it was not enough as the Gwinnett Gladiators fell to the Pensacola Ice Pilots 6-5 Saturday night at the Arena at Gwinnett Center.
The Ice Pilots got out to an early lead with a power play marker from Mike Sgroi at the 3:17 mark of the first period. Sgroi was able to jam home a bouncing puck getting behind Gwinnett netminder Dan Turple. Joel Stepp and Jean-Claude Sawyer got the assists for Pensacola.
Gwinnett answered about midway through the first stanza when Derek Nesbitt notched his 11th goal of the season at the 9:25 mark. Nesbitt picked up a loose puck at the red line and fired a slap shot from the blue line that got past the outstretched glove of Pensacola goalie Cam Ellsworth. Nesbitt's unassisted goal tied the game for the Gladiators and closed out the scoring in the first frame
Pensacola retook a one-goal lead less than a minute into the second period. In the waning seconds of a power play, Luke Fabian picked up his own rebound and made good on the try, beating Turple on the stick side for the Pensacola marker. Andrew Winnick and Preston Briggs picked up the assists on the goal for the Ice Pilots at the 57-second mark of the second period.
Lou Dickenson evened the contest once more in the second period. Picking an errant puck off of Jeff Campbell's skates, Nesbitt fed Dickenson who circled the net and tucked the puck just inside the post and past Ellsworth for the marker. Nesbitt got the assist on the goal as Gwinnett knotted the game at 2 at the 11:30 mark of the second.
The Gladiators took their first lead of the game on a power play goal from Stuart MacRae at the 15:54 mark of the second frame. MacRae collected the rebound from a Jamie Milam slap shot from the point and snuck it past the Pensascola netminder for the marker. Mike Hamilton got the second assist on the goal, MacRae's second of the season and his first on the man advantage.
Gwinnett got what looked to be an insurance goal two-and-a-half minutes later when Jon Awe ripped a slap shot from the right wing circle past Ellsworth for the score on the power play. Jeff Campbell got the first assist with Nesbitt chipping in as well and picking up his second helper of the contest. The goal was Awe's fifth of the season and third in two games since rejoining the Gladiators from an assignment with the AHL's Houston Aeros.
Pensacola quickly closed the gap that the Gladiators had created. With just 27 seconds left in the second period, Luke Erickson slipped a puck through traffic and past Turple for a Pensacola marker to bring the Ice Pilots back within one. Bryan Esner and Bryan MacGregor picked up helpers on the goal.
The Ice Pilots got back even 2:43 into the final period as Mathieu Roy jammed a bouncing puck past Turple for the Pensacola goal. Turple was never able to corral the puck after it bounced over the net and Pensacola's Roy took advantage for the marker. Esner picked up an assist on the play as well as Fabian.
Pensacola retook the lead with 1:53 left in the contest. Stepp flicked the puck past Turple and into the net. There was no immediate indication on the goal, but the Ice Pilots picked up the marker to take the 5-4 lead. Sgroi picked up the assist on the tally for Pensacola.
Mike Hamilton got the Gladiators back to even with a goal at the 14:19 point in the third period. Hamilton, from just in front of the goal line to the right of Pensacola's netminder, flicked a shot that snuck behind Ellsworth to tie the contest at 5. The marker was Hamilton's eighth of the season and Campbell picked up the assist, his second of the night as well as Jamie Milam.
Pensacola then took a 6-5 lead with under two minutes left to play on a shorthanded tally from Bryan McGregor. McGregor picked up a loose puck along the red line and beat Turple on the stick side for an unassisted marker that turned out to be the game winner.
Turple finished with 28 saves in the loss for Gwinnett. The Gladiators finished 2-for-4 on the power play while Pensacola went 3-for-6 on the man advantage.
The Gladiators continue their fifth anniversary season on Thursday, December 27th as they host the Columbia Inferno at the Arena at Gwinnett Center at 7:35 p.m. Catch all the play-by-play action in Friday's game via AccessNorthGa.com "Access Radio" audio stream channel 3.
Celebrating its 20th Anniversary as the Premier 'AA' Hockey League in 2007-08, the ECHL began in 1988-89 with five teams in three states and has grown to be a coast-to-coast league that has 25 teams in 17 states and British Columbia in 2007-08. The 25 teams includes the Mississippi (Biloxi) Sea Wolves, who return after missing two seasons in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, and the expansion Elmira (N.Y.) Jackals. The ECHL will play 900 games beginning Oct. 18 and concluding Apr. 5.
The Gwinnett Gladiators continue their fifth season as a proud member of the ECHL - season ticket packages are on sale now. In addition, the Gladiators offer several unique multi-game ticket packages as well as discounted group rates, suite rentals, and birthday parties. For more information call 770-497-5100 or log on to gwinnettgladiators.com.
The Gladiators are the AA affiliate of the Atlanta Thrashers and play all home games at the spectacular 11,355-seat Arena at Gwinnett Center, located just off I-85 on Sugarloaf Parkway in Duluth, where parking is always free.
Wednesday
April 24th, 2024
1:15AM
