CHARLOTTE, NC - The Gwinnett Gladiators clinched a berth in the 2009 Kelly Cup Playoffs with a 3-0 win over the Charlotte Checkers on Saturday, April 4th at the Time Warner Cable Arena. Joe Fallon notched the first shutout of the season in the win for Gwinnett making 32 saves. with the win, Gwinnett opens the 2009 Kelly Cup Playoffs at Florida on Friday, April 10th.
Brandon Kaleniecki opened the scoring in the contest giving Gwinnett a 1-0 lead 15:34 into the first period. Parked on the doorstep, Kaleniecki found a rebound and flicked it past Charlotte netminder Jeff Jakaitis for the goal. Jeff Mason and Tom Zanoski collected the assists on the power play goal for Gwinnett.
Gwinnett took a 2-0 lead on the Checkers 2:08 into the third period on a power play goal by Adam Berti. Out of a scrum in front of the Charlotte net, Berti found a loose puck and beat Jakaitis on a second chance for the goal. Mason and Zanoski each added their second assist of the game on the power play goal for Gwinnett.
Dirk Southern added an empty net goal for the Gladiators with 28 seconds left in the third period to put the contest away. Southern took a rink wide pass from Brandon Kaleniecki before ripping the puck into the empty net from just inside the Charlotte blue line. Berti also added an assist on the goal for the Gladiators.
Gwinnett went 2-for-5 on the power play and snapped a three game losing skid with the win. The shutout by Fallon for Gwinnett was the first shutout since March 29th of 2008 when Craig Kowalski made 18 saves at Florida.
With the win, the Gladiators clinch the final spot in the ECHL's South Division playoff race and will battle the first place Florida Everblades in the opening round that begins on Friday in Florida. The complete schedule is below:
GAME 1 â
Saturday
July 19th, 2025
12:41PM
