Gladiators pound Lynx 8-3

DULUTH -- Chad Painchaud notched his first career hat trick, five other Gladiators added goals AND Craig Kowalski made 32 saves as the Gwinnett Gladiators beat the Augusta Lynx 8-3 at the Arena at Gwinnett Center on Saturday night. With the win Gwinnett improves to 36-18-2-3 on the season. Painchaud's hat trick was the first for a Gladiator in the Arena at Gwinnett center since Colton Fretter accomplished the feat on February 9, 2007.

Augusta got on the board first with a shorthanded goal from Louis Goulet at the 6:08 point of the first period. On a breakaway with Shane Hynes after snagging a loose puck, Goulet positioned himself perfectly to collect the rebound from a Hynes shot and jam it home for the Augusta marker. Hynes got an assist on the goal, putting Augusta up 1-0.

Gwinnett answered quickly, converting on their first power play try of the contest. Chad Painchaud notched his second goal of the season and his first since rejoining the team from Chicago on Thursday. Bryson Busniuk moving through the slot, snapped a centering feed to Painchaud at the far post and Painchaud buried the puck in the back of the Augusta net for the marker. Painchaud's goal, at the 7:06 mark of the period gave the Gladiators a 2-1 lead.

Andy Brandt netted his sixteenth goal of the season at the 7:40 mark of the first period to give Gwinnett the lead. . Brandt, camped at the right wing corner of the crease was in position to grab a rebound from Jeff Mason's slap shot from the point and sneak it past Augusta goaltender Bobby Goepfert for the Gwinnett marker. Mason and Mike Hamilton got assists on the power play goal.

Painchaud struck again just over a minute later with an even-strength goal at the 9:20 mark of the period. Painchad, dancing through the slot, took a shot and then grabbed his own rebound, beating Goepfert for the goal. Assists on the play went to Ryan Mahrle and Bryson Busniuk as Gwinnett went up by a 3-1 score.

The Lynx narrowed the deficit with a power play goal of their own at the 13:46 mark of the first. Hynes netted the marker from Adrian Veideman cutting Gwinnett's lead to 3-2.

Painchaud completed the hat trick with an unassisted goal at the 6:11 mark of the second period. Picking up a loose puck at the bottom of the right wing circle, Painchaud skated through the face off circle and fired a shot that beat Goepfert over the right shoulder for the even-strength Gwinnett marker. Brandt picked up an assist on the goal, and Busniuk added his third helper of the contest.

The Gladiators pushed their lead to three at the 13:46 mark of the second period on an even-strength goal from Ryan Mahrle. Brad Schell won a face off and slid the puck back to Guillaume Desbiens who passed to Ryan Mahrle at the right wing point. Mahrle then ripped a slap shot that snuck under Goepfert's left arm and into the back of the Augusta net for the Gwinnett marker. The goal, Mahrle's third of the season gave the Gladiators a 5-2 lead.

Gwinnett added another goal at the 11:25 mark of the third period. Jamie Milam's eleventh of the season put the Gladiators up by a 6-2 score. With Gwinnett on a power play, Milam took a pass from Jeff Campbell and fired a slap shot from the left wing point that sailed past Goepfert for the Gwinnett marker. Campbell and Tomas Pospisil picked up assists on the goal.

Jeff Mason added another Gwinnett goal twenty seconds later. Mason picked up the puck at the blue line and skated to the top of the right wing point where he ripped a slap shot that slipped past Goepfert for the unassisted marker, his fourth of the year.

Augusta picked up one more goal to cut the Gwinnett lead to five with less than a minute to go in the game. Travis Fuller skated through the slot and slipped the puck right through Kowalski's legs for the marker. Bobby Bolt got the assist on the goal for the Lynx.

But the Gwinnett lead was too big and the Gladiators skated to the 8-3 victory. Craig Kowalski made 32 saves in the win as his record climbs to 24-8-0-2 on the season.

The Gladiators continue their fifth anniversary season on Sunday, March 9th as they travel to Augusta to take on the Augusta Lynx at the James Brown Memorial Coliseum at 4:05 p.m. Catch all the play-by-play action in Saturday's game on WDUN, News Talk 550.