PREVIEW: Glads Look for Fifth Straight Home Win

WHEN: Friday, Nov. 25 at 7:00 PM

WHERE: Gas South Arena, - Duluth, Ga.

WHO: Atlanta Gladiators vs South Carolina Stingrays

PROMOTION: Bring a canned good item or hygiene product and recieve a buy one, get one free ticket offer for tonight's 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 go head-to-head with the high-flying Stingrays tonight at Gas South Arena for the first of two consecutive games between Atlanta and South Carolina. Tonight also marks the second of three games in three days for the Gladiators on home ice. The Glads and Rays are slated to meet 12 times this season, tonight serving as the second encounter between the two clubs. Nov 5 marked the only other meeting of the season between Atlanta and South Carolina, and it featured a 4-2 home win for the Stingrays.

Scouting the Stingrays: South Carolina boasts the top scoring attack in the ECHL, led by rookies Carter Turnbull (8G-7A), Jeff O’Neil (10G-5A), and Johnny Evans (3G-12A), each with 15 points. Another pair of rookies, Clay Stevenson and Tyler Wall, man the crease for the Stingrays. Cumming, Georgia native Connor Moore has added offense from the back end with 10 points (0G-10A) so far this season. 

Power Play: The Gladiators have used the power play to great effect to start the 2022-23 season. Atlanta has the second-best power play in the ECHL at 26.6% and leads the league with 17 power-play markers. Derek Topatigh (1G-7A) and Mike Pelech (3G-5A) lead all Gladiators with eight power-play points each. Atlanta struck twice on the man-advantage last night against Savannah and has now netted power-play tallies in its last nine games. During the current hot stretch, the Glads are 13-for-42 on the man advantage for a 31.0% conversion rate.

There They Go Killin’ Again: The Gladiators’ penalty kill has been suffocating to start the season, and it was critical in last night’s 2-1 win over Savannah. Atlanta killed off six Ghost Pirates power plays, including a two-minute 5-on-3, a five-minute major, and a minor penalty at the end of regulation. The Glads have the best PK in the league at 92.3%, having only surrendered an ECHL-best four power-play goals this season. Atlanta went 4-for-4 on the kill the last time it took on South Carolina. 

Pelech Pursuing More History: Mike Pelech has already tackled several milestones in his career, but even more are on the horizon. The veteran is five goals away from hitting 200 pro tallies and seven goals away from hitting 200 ECHL markers. Pelech is also 14 points away from leaping into fourth place in all-time ECHL points and currently has 622. In 36 games, he will become the all-time leader in the ECHL games played. 

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