Columbia broke a scoreless tie late in the first period on the power play. Parked along the goal line, Daniel Sparre collected a puck that was deflected in the slot and flipped it past Gwinnett netminder Dan Turple for the goal. Patrick Wellar and Donny Grover notched the assists on the power play goal at 15:16 of the first period for Columbia.
The Gladiators equalized the contest at 1-1 on Lou Dickenson's 13th goal of the season. Dickenson jammed the puck past Columbia netminder Jeff Jakaitis at the 18:43 mark of the second period out of a pile up in front of the Columbia net. Tomas Pospisil and Bryson Busniuk collected the assists on the goal for Gwinnett.
Mike Hamilton gave the Gladiators a 2-1 lead in the third period with his 9th goal of the season. Falling to his knees, Hamilton whipped the puck past Jakaitis just 2:08 into the third period for the power play goal for Gwinnett. Matt Anderson and Jeff Campbell had assists on the goal for Gwinnett.
Columbia equalized the game at two with less than five minutes left in the third period. Donny Grover picked up a loose puck in the slot and ripped a snap shot past Turple for the marker at 15:55 of the third period. Owen Fussey and Jeff Miles collected the assists on the goal for Columbia.
After a scoreless overtime session, Gwinnett pulled out the win in a shootout in the 10th round. Andy Brandt posted the 10th round game winning shootout goal while Turple stopped Grover in the final extra round for the win.
Turple finished with 21 saves for the Gladiators in the second period alone while posting his career high 49 saves in the shootout win. Both teams finished 1-for-4 on the power play in the contest.
The Gladiators continue their fifth anniversary season on Friday, January 4th as they travel to Pensacola to take on the Ice Pilots at 8:05 p.m. at the Pensacola Civic Center. Catch all the play-by-play action in Friday's game online via AccessNorthGa.com on Access raiod streamming 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.
http://accesswdun.com/article/2008/1/205391