Gwinnett jumped out to an early lead on Guillaume Desbiens' 30th goal of the year on the power play. Desbiens got a piece of Joel Stepp's slap shot from the point to deflect the puck past Greenville netminder Cam Ellsworh for the tally. Jon Awe also had an assist on the goal for the Gladiators.
Rory McMahon tied the game at one with a goal 15:49 into the first period, as he beat Gladiators netminder Adam Berkhoel though traffic in the slot for the tally. Steve Slonina and Cody Blanshan picked up the helpers on the marker as they hooked up to set up McMahon at the left wing point for the goal.
Steve Slaton found a loose puck in a scramble in front of the Greenville net with less than 20 seconds left in the opening period and pounded the puck home to give the Gladiators their second power play goal of the game and a 2-1 lead before the first intermission. Jeff Dwyer and Brad Schell picked up the assists on the goal for Gwinnett.
Greenville tied the contest up at two less than five minutes into the second period. Daryl Pierce threw the puck into the slot where John Snowden got a stick on the puck and redirected it past Berkhoel for the marker. Les Haggett also picked up an assist on the goal 4:50 into the second.
Jan Vodrazka gave the Grrrowl their first and the only lead of the game with 2:51 left in the second period. He ripped a slap shot through traffic from the left wing point and beat Berkhoel to the far post for the power play marker. Tim Sestito and Tyler Mosienko collected the assists on the man advantage goal for the Grrrowl.
Greenville clamped down defensively in the third period as they outshot the Gladiators by a 10-8 margin. The Gladiators pulled Berkhoel within the final minute of play but could not get the puck deep into the Greenville zone for a chance to tie the contest up.
The Gladiators remain one win shy of setting a new franchise record for wins in a season and are still two points shy of setting a new franchise record for standings points in a season.
The Gwinnett Gladiators, who have already clinched a playoff berth, continue the 2005-06 ECHL season at the Arena at Gwinnett Center on Saturday, March 18th as they host the Charlotte Checkers 7:35 p.m. The Gladiators offer several ticket packages for different needs as well as group outings, suites and birthday parties. For more information call 770-497-5100 or log on to gwinnettgladiators.com.
The Gladiators play all 36 home games at the Arena at Gwinnett Center located on Sugarloaf Parkway in Duluth and are the AA affiliate of the Atlanta Thrashers.
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