DULUTH - Craig Kowlaksi stopped all 31 shots he faced to notch his second shut out of this postseason and Scott Marchesi tallied his first professional goal as the Gwinnett Galdiators beat the South Carolina Stingrays 3-0 at the Arena at Gwinnett Center on Tuesday. The Gwinnett win evens the series at two game apiece and forces a deciding game five at the North Charleston Coliseum on Wednesday.
For the second straight night, the Gladiators and the Stingrays skated to a scoreless opening period. Gwinnett again outshot the Stingrays putting up 12 shots on goal to four for South Carolina. Both teams went scoreless of the power play as South Carolina was 0-for-1 and Gwinnett went 0-for-3 on the man advantage, but the Gladiators retained nearly 90 seconds on the advantage from a penalty late in the first.
Gwinnett took advantage of the leftover power play chance and jumped out to a 1-0 lead just 48 seconds into the period. After taking a pass from Jeff Campbell, Jamie Milam fired a slap shot from the point that South Carolina goaltender Josh Johnson got a glove on, but the shot had just enough juice to carry past Johnson and into the net for the Gwinnett marker. Campbell and Lou Dickenson picked up helpers on the goal, Milam's second of this postseason.
Scott Marchesi's first professional goal, an even-strength marker coming at the 11:44 mark of the second period gave Gwinnett a 2-0 lead. Guillaume Desbiens dug a rink-wide pass from Brad Schell off the boards at the left wing and flipped a backhand towards the net. Marchesi, camped at the left corner of the slot corralled the bouncing puck and jammed it home for the marker. Schell and Desbiens both picked up helpers on the marker, the sixth of the postseason for each.
The Gladiators went up by a 3-0 score on a goal from Bryson Busniuk at the 17:48 mark of the second period. With a power play expiring, Gwinnet cycled the puck around the South Carolina zone. Busniuk was waiting on the doorstep when a Jeff Mason shot caromed off of Mike Hamilton. Busniuk grabbed the rebound, flipping it over the shoulder of South Carolina goaltender Johnson for the Gwinnett marker. Hamilton and Mason picked up assists on the even-strength marker.
The teams skated to a scoreless third period with Gwinnett out-shooting the Stingrays by a 16-12 margin. Both teams again were unsuccessful on the man advantage with Gwinnett going 0-for-5 and South Carolina coming in at 0-for-1.
Craig Kowalski stopped 31 shots in the contest to record his fourth win of the postseason as his record goes to 4-1-1 in the 2008 Kelly Cup Playoffs.
The series will continue tomorrow night at 7:05 p.m. the North Charleston Coliseum.
The Gladiators continue their fifth anniversary season with Game 5 of the Division Semifinals on Wednesday April 23, traveling to Charleston, SC to take on the South Carolina Stingrays at the North Charleston Coliseum at 7:05 p.m.
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.
Sunday
May 4th, 2025
4:17PM
