Gladiators Roast Stingrays 7-3

Duluth - Tomas Pospisil picked up his eighth and ninth goals of the season and Andy Brandt, Stuart MacRae and Mike Hamilton all picked up a goal and an assist each as the Gwinnett Gladiators rolled to a 7-3 win over the South Carolina Stingrays.

The Gladiators netted seven goals just one night after being shut out by these same South Carolina Stingrays. Seven goals stands as the most goals scored by a Gwinnett team in the first game after being shut out. The Gladiators carry a 7-3-0 record in such games.

For the first time in three games, the Gladiators got on the board first with a power play goal from Jimmy Jackson at the 3:13 mark of the first period. After a centering feed from Jeff Campbell bounced off of South Carolina goalie Davis Parley's stick, Jackson was able to bat the bouncing puck home for the marker. Campbell and Mike Hamilton got the assists on the goal, Jackson's tenth of the season and third in the last three games.

The Gladiators added to their lead just before the midpoint of the second period. Andy Brandy's tenth goal of the season at the 9:27 mark of the second stanza gave the Gladiators a 2-0 lead. Brandt gathered a loose puck at the goal line and beat Stingray goaltender Davis Parley for the even-strength marker.

Tomas Pospisil pushed the Gwinnett lead to three with just over five minutes to play in the second. With Mike Hamilton coming out of the penalty box, Pospisil was able to pick off a South Carolina pass and beat Parley for the marker, Pospisil's eighth of the season. The even strength goal came at the 13:37 mark of the second period.

The Gwinnett lead grew to four just over a minute later. After a try from the right wing circle teetered on the brink of the goal line, Jeff Campbell was able to jam home his own rebound for the Gladiator marker. The goal, Campbell's eleventh of the season came at the 15:14 mark of the period. Assists on the goal went to Jamie Milam and Andy Brandt.

South Carolina got on the board at the 19:35 point of the second with a shorthanded goal from Marty Guerin. With the Gladiators on a power play, Guerin intercepted a Gwinnett pass, raced the length of the rink and beat Kowalski five-hole for the Stingray goal cutting the Gwinnett lead to 3.

The Gladiators answered quickly though, punching their lead back to four with a power play goal at the 19:47 mark in the period. Tomas Pospisil's second goal of the game and ninth of the season gave Gwinnett the 5-1 lead. Stuart MacRae won the face-off draw in the South Carolina zone and sent a pass to Pospisil down low. Pospisil then flicked the puck over the South Carolina net-minder's shoulder for the Gladiators marker. MacRae was credited with the assist on the goal.

South Carolina came out swinging in the third period cutting the Gladiator lead to 5-2 with an even-strength goal from Matt Scherer at the 3:30 mark of the third period. Scherer took a centering feed at the left wing point and fired a slap shot that snuck over Craig Kowalski's right shoulder for the marker. Trent Campbell and Pierre Luc O'Brien had assists on the South Carolina goal.

The Stingrays narrowed the deficit even more with another even strength goal just 42 seconds later. Paul McIlveen was able to collect a rebound from his own shot and jam it home past Kowalski's outstretched leg for the South Carolina marker. Steve Pinizzotto and Mike Gabinet goat assists on the goal coming at the 4:12 mark of the final stanza.

Gwinnett pushed the lead back to three on Mike Hamilton's fourteenth goal of the season, coming at the 10:34 mark. Coming out of the penalty box, Chad Denny picked up a loose puck at the Gwinnett blue line and hooked up with Hamilton on the breakaway. Hamilton and Denny played catch with the puck with Hamilton eventually beating Parley for the marker for the Gladiators. Denny picked up the assist on the goal which pushed the Gwinnett lead to 6-3, his sixth helper of the year.

Stuart MacRae's sixth goal of the year capped off the scoring with a goal at the 12:43 mark of the final period. After a save, Gwinnett net-minder Craig Kowalski flipped the puck to MacRae who raced the length of the ice and beat South Carolina's Parley at the other end for the Gwinnett marker. Kowalski got the assist on the goal, which pushed the score to 7-3.

Kowalski picked up the win notching 21 saves on 24 shots in the contest. With the victory, Gwinnett improves to 26-13-4.

The Gladiators continue their fifth anniversary season on Friday, February 8th as they host the Wheeling Nailers at the Arena at Gwinnett Center at 7:35 p.m. Catch all the play-by-play action in Friday's game via AccessRadio on AccessNorthGa.com.

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.