Germain, FL - The Gwinnett Gladiators posted four third period goals to overcome a 4-2 deficit to post a 5-4 win over the Florida Everblades on Wednesday night at the Germain Arena. Gwinnett moves back into sole possession of second place in the ECHL's South Division with the win moving two points ahead of the idle South Carolina Stingrays. Tomas Pospisil led Gwinnett in scoring in the win with a goal and two assists.
Florida jumped out to a 1-0 lead on the Gladiators just 1:39 into the first period. Gladiators netminder Craig Kowalski couldn't find a loose puck in a pile up in front of the Gwinnett net and the Everblades capitalized tapping the puck past the netminder for the marker. Mathieu Melanson posted the goal for Florida finding the loose puck in the slot. Adam Taylor and Ernie Hartlieb notched the assists on the goal for the Everblades.
Derek Damon pushed the Everblades lead to 2-0 with a power play goal just 53 seconds into the second period. Damon picked the puck off the right wing wall and waked untouched into the slot before beating Kowalski and clanking the puck off three post and into the back of the net for the marker. Hartlieb and Preston Callander posted the assists on the power play goal for the Everblades.
Gwinnett cut the Florida lead in half on Tomas Pospisil's 17th goal of the season. Pospisil finished an odd man rush for the Gladiators ripping a one-time slapshot over the shoulder of Everblades netminder Kevin Nastiuk from the left wing face off circle. Pospisil was set up on the marker by Matt Anderson feeding a pass through a pair of Everblades defensemen from the right side. Mike Hamilton also had an assist springing Anderson on the break to set up the goal at 9:10 of the second period.
Florida regained the two-goal advantage at 15:34 of the third period. Callander jammed a rebound past Kowalski for the goal. Trailing a Florida break, Kowalski made the initial save before Callander found the rebound and flipped the puck past Kowalski for the goal. Damon and Brad Zancanaro had the helpers on the tally for the Everblades leaving Florida with a 3-1 lead after two periods.
Gwinnett again pulled within a goal. Bryson Busniuk tapped the puck past Nastiuk on the back-door on the power play to cut the Florida lead to 3-2 at 2:43 of the third period. Brad Schell found Busniuk wide open on the back door to set up the marker for the Gladiators. Jamie Milam also had an assist on the goal for Gwinnett.
Florida regained the two goal advantage at 6:13 of the thrid period. Zancanaro was able to beat Kowalski from the right wing circle to give the Everblades a 4-2 lead. Damon notched the assist on the marker for the Everblades.
Gwinnett begain the comeback at 10:49 of the third period. Ryan Mahrle just 11 seconds into a power play ripped the puck past Nastiuk from the off wing for the goal. Tomas Pospisil and Matt Anderson notched the assists on the power play goal for Gwinnett that cut the Everblades lead back to one goal.
Campbell tied the game at four at 14:35 of the third period ripping a slap shot from the high slot past Nastiuk for the goal. Trailing an 3-on-2 rush into the Florida zone, campbell took a pass in the high slot from Schell to set up the goal for the Gladiators.
Just 61 seconds later, Mike Hamilton posted the game winner for the Gladiators. In transition, Hamilton got the puck back from Mahrle on an odd man rush in the slot and ripped a snap shot past Nastiuk for the goal for Gwinnett. Tomas Pospisil posted an asist on the goal at 15:36 of the third period for Gwinnett.
Kowalski finished with 28 saves in the win for the Gladiators. With the win, Kowalski is just one win shy of tying a career high for wins in a season as he posted his 28th win of the season for Gwinnett.
The Gladiators continue their fifth anniversary season on Friday, March 28th as they travel to Florida to take on the Everblades at the Germain Arena at 7:30 p.m. Catch all the play-by-play action in Friday's game online via AccessNorthGa.com audio 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.
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May 3rd, 2025
5:58AM
