MLN Newswire - www.mlntherawfeed.com -The Gwinnett Gladiators put up quite a fight facing the number two team in the American Conference on Saturday night.  An evenly matched contest would prove to be one of the more thrilling of the young season in front of a weekend crowd of 8,614.  The Kalamazoo Wings were coming off of a four-day layoff, while Gwinnett had played solid game just one night prior, but the two squads seemed to feed off each other’s energy, making for a hard-fought and fast-paced game.

The Gladiators fell behind at the 12:41 mark of the first period when Andrew Fournier was awarded a controversial penalty shot after Tom Zanoski denied him a fair opportunity on what was determined to be a clean breakaway.  With a fake to the blocker side, Fournier slid one under the glove of Gwinnett goaltender Danny Taylor, giving the Wings the 1-0 lead.

Sam Roberts pulled the Gladiators even at one at the 15:44 mark of the period with his second power play goal in as many nights, which began a mad flurry of three goals in just over three minutes.

The Gladiators would take their first lead of the night just two minutes after Roberts’ tally, as Zanoski found Scott Mifsud on the doorstep for the 2-1 advantage, giving Mifsud tallies in back-to-back nights.

But Kalamazoo would quickly erase that lead 20 seconds later as Rick Cleaver notched his sixth goal of the season, beating Taylor high on the blocker side on an assist from Fourier, his second point of the night.

The teams combined for 34 shots in the period, 19 of them by Kalamazoo.

The second period was much like the first, as the teams continued to match each other almost stride for stride.  Kalamazoo would eventually restore their one-goal lead with a power play goal of their own after Brad Schell went off for slashing 3:27 into the frame.  Wings defenseman Tom Morrow beat Danny Taylor on the blocker side with a slap shot from the point, giving Kalamazoo a 3-2 edge.  It was the first power play goal the Gladiators had given up since giving up one to Charlotte at home on October 30, three games prior. 

Sticking with the theme of the night, Pat Galivan evened up the game at three goals apiece, tucking a shot under Kalamazoo goaltender Julien Ellis through traffic in the crease after snatching up a loose puck in the slot.  Scott Marchesi picked up his first assist of the season on the play. 

For the second night in a row, Gwinnett goaltender Danny Taylor came up with impressive save after save to keep his team in the game.

Gwinnett owned a narrow 31-30 margin in shots after two periods.

Scott Mifsud recorded his second goal of the night, jamming home his own rebound to give the Gladiators their second one-goal lead of the night 6:06 into the third.

But Kalamazoo would once again answer with a goal to tie the game at four just 1:52 later on a 5-on-3 advantage after Tom Zanoski instigated a fight and Adam Berti went off for kneeing.

The Wings would take the lead for good just two minutes later, making it 5-4 when Mathieu Curdaeau skated end to end and fooled Taylor for an unassisted go-ahead marker, his team-leading sixth goal.

The Gladiators peppered Kalamazoo net minder, Julien Ellis who is fourth in the league in goals against average, in the closing minutes, but Ellis was up to the challenge, stoning the Gladiators, who skated 6-on-4, including a last second blast by Drew Paris to seal the win.

Brad Schell saw his eight-game point streak come to an end, as he would not make the score sheet for the first time all season, despite having an uncontested breakaway in the first period.

With the win, Kalamazoo remains tied atop the North Division, while Gwinnett surrenders the top spot to South Carolina, who was victorious over the Reading Royals.

Gwinnett finished with a season-high 49 shots, 10 better than Kalamazoo, but still found themselves on the losing side of the battle.

The Gladiators continued their success on the power play, finishing one for four on the night.

Gwinnett dropped to 5-2-1-1 while Kalamazoo improved to 7-1-1-0.

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