PREVIEW: Atlanta Looks to Finish Week with Sixth Straight Home Win

WHEN: Saturday, Nov. 26 at 7:00 PM

WHERE: Gas South Arena, - Duluth, Ga.

WHO: Atlanta Gladiators vs South Carolina Stingrays

PROMOTION: It's Flintstones night! The Gladiators will wear special Flintstones jerseys that will be auctioned off after the game!

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 Gladiators look for their sixth straight home win tonight against the Stingrays at Gas South Arena. Atlanta is closing out a stretch of three games in three days this evening, with this week marking the first time the Glads have had three games in three days since Opening Weekend back in October. The Gladiators feature the league’s best power play and the league’s penalty kill. 

Scouting the Stingrays: South Carolina was held to one or fewer goals for just the second time this season in last night’s game. Johnny Evans leads a high-flying Stingrays offense with 16 points (3G-13A) and is followed closely by Carter Turnbull’s 15 points (10G-5A). Having seen Tyler Wall last night, it’s likely that the Gladiators will see rookie Clay Stevenson in net for South Carolina. Stevenson owns a 3-2-1-0 record this season with a 2.85 goals-against average and a .906 save percentage.

Power Play: The Gladiators have used the power play to great effect to start the 2022-23 season. Atlanta has the best power play in the ECHL at 26.9% and leads the league with 18 power-play markers. Derek Topatigh (1G-8A) and Mike Pelech (3G-6A) lead all Gladiators with nine power-play points each. Cody Sylvester struck on the man-advantage last night against South Carolina, and Atlanta has now netted power-play tallies in its last 10 games. During the current hot stretch, the Glads are 14-for-45 on the man advantage for a 31.1% conversion rate.

Crack on Kirk!: On Tuesday, the Arizona Coyotes reassigned forward Liam Kirk to Atlanta from the Tucson Roadrunners in the AHL. Kirk appeared in one game this season with Tucson and posted two goals and one assist in eight contests last season with the Roadrunners. The Maltby, England native is the first player drafted in the NHL to be both born and trained in England. Kirk was taken by the Coyotes in the seventh round of the 2018 NHL Draft and is currently on an NHL contract with Arizona. The forward made his Gladiators debut on Thursday and recorded one shot. Last night, Kirk recorded his first two ECHL goals with a pair of third-period tallies to extend Atlanta’s lead and break away from South Carolina.

There They Go Killin' Again: The Gladiators’ penalty kill has been suffocating to start the season, and it was critical in last night’s 3-1 win over South Carolina. Atlanta killed off five Stingrays power plays, including a 5-on-3 that lasted 1:39 in the second period. The Glads have the best PK in the league at 93.0%, having only surrendered an ECHL-best four power-play goals this season. 

--