PREVIEW: Gladiators vs Defending Champs on Opening Night

WHEN: Friday, Oct. 21 at 7:00 PM

WHERE: Gas South Arena – Duluth, Ga.

WHO: Atlanta Gladiators vs Florida Everblades

PROMOTION: Kroger 4 Pack - 4 endzone tickets to tonight's game and $25 Kroger gift card for just $100

BROADCAST: All Atlanta Gladiators games are broadcast live on the Gladiators Broadcast Network. Listen to the game online at Mixlr.com, or watch the game on FloHockey.TV.

GAME NOTES

DULUTH, Ga. - The Atlanta Gladiators open the season at home against the defending Kelly Cup Champion Florida Everblades with a pair of games on Friday and Saturday night. Atlanta and Florida finished second and first respectively in the South Division last season when the race for the division championship came down to the final weekend. The Gladiators and Everblades met 13 times last season with Florida holding an 8-3-2-0 advantage in the series. In games at Gas South Arena last season, Atlanta posted a 3-3-0-0 record against Florida.

Scouting the Everblades: The Everblades return three of their top seven leading scorers from a season ago, including Blake Winiecki who led the team with 70 points (33G-37A) in 68 games. Goaltender Cam Johnson returns to the crease for Florida after winning 10 of 15 starts and earning a .913 save percentage last season. 

Let's Run it Back: Head Coach Jeff Pyle has brought back 16 players who skated with the Gladiators during the 2021-22 season. That total is tied for the most returning players in Gladiators history with the 16 returners that the 2007-08 team featured. Led by Jeff Campbell, Lou Dickenson, and Jamie Milam, the 2007-08 captured 44 wins and advanced to the Conference Semifinals in the 2008 Kelly Cup Playoffs. This season, the Gladiators are returning 56% of games played, 61% of goals, 61% of assists, 61% of points, and 68% of penalty minutes from the 2021-22 club that finished second in the South Division with 91 points.

Affiliate File: The Gladiators reached an affiliation agreement with the NHL’s Arizona Coyotes and the AHL’s Tucson Roadrunners on Aug. 25. Atlanta previously served as Arizona’s ECHL affiliate for four seasons between 2011 and 2015. Tim Davison, Gabe Guertler, Kameron Kielly, and Paul McAvoy all took part in Tucson’s AHL training camp before rejoining the Gladiators prior to the start of the 2022-23 season. At the start of the current campaign, five players on the Gladiators’ roster are signed to AHL contracts with the Roadrunners (Noah Laaouan, Reece Vitelli, David Tendeck, Kade Oliver, Tyler Parks). 

New Owners, New Era: On Tuesday, Alex Campbell and Anson Carter were announced as the new Gladiators ownership group. Campbell takes over with an extensive business background, highlighted by his ownership of Capital Staffing Solutions, one of the fastest growing staffing agencies in the country. Carter, a regular on TNT’s coverage of the NHL, skated 11 seasons at hockey’s highest level with eight teams.