Gwinnett beats Columbia, 7-4

Columbia, S.C. - Matt Anderson finished with a pair of goals and an assist while Chad Painchaud had a goal and a pair of assists to lead the Gwinnett Gladiators to a 7-4 win over the Columbia Inferno on Saturday night at the Carolina Coliseum. Gwinnett improves to 39-19-5 on the season with the win. The Gladiators remain in a tie with the South Carolina Stingrays, who won tonight as well, for second place in the ECHL's South Division. Both teams have 83 points on the season.

Gwinnett took a 1-0 lead on the Inferno at 6:42 of the first period on Anderson's 10th goal of the season. Sliding into the slot, Anderson deflected Andy Brandt's shot past Columbia netminder Todd Ford for the marker. Joe Grimaldi also had an assist on the goal for Gwinnett.

Guillaume Desbien's second goal of the season gave Gwinnett a 2-0 lead. Finding a bouncing rebound in the slot, Desbiens picked up the marker as he whacked the bouncing puck past Ford at 13:38 of the first period. Dinos Stamoulis collected an assist on the goal for Gwinnett.

Gwinnett pushed its lead to 3-0 at 18:41 of the first period on Tomas Pospisil's 14th goal of the season. Working down the right wing wall, Pospisil ripped a snap shot past Ford from the right wing face off circle for the goal. Mike Hamilton and Bryson Busniuk hooked up to pick up the assists on the goal for Gwinnett.

Columbia got on the board in the second period. Jeff Miles threw the puck off of Gladiators netminder Craig Kowalski and into the back of the net to cut the Gladiators lead to two goals. Julien Brouillette and Dan Glover collected the assists on the goal at 4:38 of the second period for Columbia.

Gwinnett answered at 6:42 of the period on Anderson's second goal of the game. Working down the off wing, Anderson ripped a rink wide pass from Brandt past Ford for the marker. Painchaud collected an assist on the goal for Gwinett giving the Gladiators a 4-1 lead.

Columbia pulled back within two goals for the second time in the contest at 7:46 of the second period on a goal by Mac Faulkner. Finding a loose puck in the slot, Faulkner flicked the puck past Kowalski to post the goal for Columbia. Liam Huculak and Steve McJannett posted the assists on the goal for Columbia.

Gwinnett then posted the next two goals in the contest to give the Gladiators a 6-2 lead after two period. Gwinnett scored on its first power play chance of the contest as Painchaud, who was working down the off wing, ripped the puck past Ford at 11:22 of the second period to give Gwinnett a 5-2 lead. Schell had an assist as he set up the goal finding Panchaud working down the wing. Jeff Campbell also notched an assist the power play goal for Gwinnett.

Cambepll then gave the Gladiators a four goal lead at 16:02 of the second period. Spinning in the slot, Campbell ripped a slap shot over the shoulder of Ford to give Gwinnett a 6-2 lead. Schell had his second assist of the game on Campbell's 21st goal of the season. Pospisil also had an assist on the goal for Gwinnett.

Miles added his second goal of the night for Columbia to cut the Gladiators lead back to three goals. Walking into the slot untouched, Miles ripped a slap shot past Kowalski for the marker at 6:21 of the third period. Brad Ralph and Owen Fussey added the assists on the goal for Columbia.

Columbia pulled back within two goal at 11:03 of the third period on a goal by Faulker. Right along the goal line, Faulkner flicked the puck past Kowalski for for the marker. Jeremy Schenderling and Eric Lundberg collected the assists on the goal for the Inferno on the power play.

Brandt rounded out the scoring in the contest to give Gwinnett a 7-4 lead on the Inferno at 13:03 of the third period. Brandt worked into the inferno zone on an odd man rush with Painchaud and Anderson and beat Ford on the off wing for the marker.

Kowalski finished with 28 saves in the win for the Gladiators. Gwinnett scored on the power play on their only opportunity going 1-for-1 in the win.

The Gladiators continue their fifth anniversary season on Thursday, March 20th as they host the Florida Everblades at the Arena at Gwinnett Center at 7:05 p.m. Catch all the play-by-play action in Thursday's game online via Accessnorthga.com on Streaming 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.