Fleming, Sims help Gladiators tumble Titans, 4-2

TRENTON, N.J. -- It was a night of firsts for Gwinnett Gladiators rookies Scott Fleming and Shane Sims, as Gwinnett topped the Trenton Titans 4-2 Wednesday night at the Sun National Bank Center in Trenton, N.J.

With the win the Glads (3-2-0-0) move into first place in the South Division while Trenton (1-4-0-0) stays in the cellar in the North.

The Titans struck first, as forward Matt Germain scored his first of the season off a rebound just 1:56 into the opening period. Gwinnett goaltender Marc Cheverie made several big stops following the goal to keep the Glads within striking distance, and with only 59 seconds remaining in the first Scott Fleming capitalized.

The rookie forward and Coyotes prospect beat Titans goalie Dave Caruso with a wicked wrist shot top shelf from the far circle for his second of the season to tie the game at one. Shane Sims had an assist on the goal for his first point as a professional.

The rookie tag team wasn't done. After Trenton took a 2-1 lead on an Andy Bohmbach shorthanded goal at 2:14, Fleming again drew Gwinnett even. The Plainfield, ON native buried a rebound chance from the far side off a Sims shot on the man advantage at 7:23 to make it a 2-2 game. Sims and Joey Haddad chipped in assists.

Pat Galivan put Gwinnett up for good on the powerplay early in the third. At 2:33 Galivan hammered home a rebound in the low slot for the Glads first lead of the night with Tyler Helfrich assisting. Sims then provided some breathing room with a diving point blank tip-in off a brilliant Tyler Murovich pass for his first pro goal, capping the scoring at 4-2.

Sims finished with one goal and two assists, while Fleming was named the #1 star with two goals. Cheverie won his second game with Gwinnett stopping 34 of 36 shots while former Gladiator Caruso stopped 27 of 31 for Trenton.

The Gladiators had success on special teams, going 1-for-5 on the powerplay while holding Trenton to 0-for-6. The Glads are next in action Friday night at 7:35 p.m. in Wheeling against the Nailers.