Augusta took a 1-0 lead on the Gladiators just 2:17 into the first period. Chase Watson found a loose puck in the slot and rolled it past Gladiators netminder Turple for the maker. Dan Kronick and Bobby Bolt posted the assists on the goal for Augusta.
Chad Painchaud answered for the Gladiators collecting his 5th goal of the season. Painchaud outworked a pair of Lynx defensemen inside the Augusta zone before ripping a slap shot from the top of the right wing circle over the shoulder of Lynx netminder Bobby Goepfert for the marker. Painchaud's goal came unassisted for Gwinnett at 6:39 of the first period on the power play.
Bolt regained the lead for Augusta as he finished an odd man rush beating Turple to the short side to give the Lynx a 2-1 lead. Watson and kronick collected the assists on the goal at 9:45 of the first period for Augusta.
Gwinnett equalized the contest in the second period at 2-2 on Bryson Busniuk's 3rd goal of the season. Parked in the slot, Busniuk took a centering feed from Tomas Pospisil behind the Augusta net and beat Goepfert for the marker. Jamie Milam also had an assist on the goal at 7:45 of the second period for Gwinnett.
Louis Goulet regained the one goal advantage for the Lynx at the 9:24 mark of the second period. Walking out of the right wing corner into the slot, Goulet slipped the puck past Turple to give Augusta a 3-2 lead. Anthony Battaglia and Jason Platt notched the assists on the goal for Augusta.
The Gladitors tied the game at three, just 32 seconds into the third period. Jamie Milam slipped into the slot and ripped a slap shot over the shoulder of Goepfert for the marker. Guillaume Desbiens picked up an assist on the goal as he fed Milam walking into the slot. Jeff Campbell also had a helper on the marker for Gwinnett.
Desbiens then put Gwinnett on top by a goal at 2:59 into the third period. Desbiens deflected Milam's slap shot from the right wing point past Goepfert to give Gwinnett a 4-3 lead on Augusta. Brad Schell also collected an assist on the goal for Gwinnett.
Campbell closed out the scoring with just 12 seconds left in the contest. Augusta pulled Goepfert with a little under a minute left in the third period but Campbell picked up a loose puck in the slot and rolled it into the empty net to give Gwinnett a 5-3 lead on Augusta. Andy Brandt also collected an assist on the goal for Gwinnett.
Turple finished with 36 saves in the win for Gwinnett. The Gladiators went 1-for-4 on the power play in the win while Augusta was 0-for-4 on the man advantage in the loss.
The Gladiators continue their fifth anniversary season on Friday, January 18th as they travel to North Charleston, South Carolina to take on the South Carolina Stingrays at 7:05 p.m. at the North Charleston Coliseum. Catch all the play-by-play action in Friday's game on WDUN, News Talk 550.
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/2008/3/207908