Atlanta Capatain Derek Nesbitt (17) is second on the club in points with six (3G, 3A). Image courtesy Atlanta Gladiators/Dale Zanine.
Atlanta began the weekend by hosting the Florida Everblades on Friday night in the 13th home opener at the Arena at Infinite Energy Center in the first of a two-game set. The Gladiators used two goals in the opening period and a pair of lamplighters in the last stanza to beat the Blades by a 4-2 count. Atlanta totaled 33 shots on goal (SOG) in the win while Florida took 23 in the loss. The win was the first for the Gladiators in three meetings with Florida after Atlanta dropped two on the road in the first week of the season.
Andy Iles was between the pipes for Atlanta in the win and made 21 stops on 23 shots while Anthony Peters totaled 29 saves on 32 Gladiator shots. The final Atlanta goal came with one second remaining with an empty net.
Gary Nunn scored the first goal of the night for Atlanta at 2:21 of the first period, and then added an assist on the last score of the night for the Gladiators (3:06 of the 3rd Period). Todd Fiddler scored Atlanta’s second goal of the game when the left-winger found the back of the net at 13:41 of the opening period to put the Glads back on top after the Everblades had tied the game at 1-1 when Justin Agosta scored on the power play. Team Captain Derek Nesbitt pushed the Atlanta lead to 3-1 when he scored at the 3:06 mark of the 3rd period. Florida cut the Atlanta lead to a goal at 3-2 when Mike Aviani beat Iles at with five minutes to play. The score remained 3-2 until Kevin Albers put the puck in an unprotected net at 19:59 of the final period.
The same clubs met again on Saturday at the Arena, but Florida held Atlanta scoreless for the first two periods while scoring twice on the way to a 4-1 win. The only goal of the game for the home team came in the 3rd Period (5:35) when Nesbitt lit the lamp on the power with Nunn and Zach Yuen picking up assists on the play. Four players, including former Gladiator Evan Bloodoff, scored for the visitors in the win.
Iles, in goal for the second night in a row, made 29 saves on 32 shots in the Atlanta loss while Daniel Altshuller got the win for Florida while making 19 saves on 20 shots. Peters had started for the Everblades on Friday.
Atlanta went on the road on Sunday to play the South Carolina Stingrays at the North Charleston Coliseum in a contest that saw the clubs combine for six 3rd Period goals. The Gladiators held a 2-0 lead going to the final stanza, but the Stingrays mounted a furious comeback attempt after falling behind 4-1 with just over ten minutes to play that evened the score at 4-4 with 3:22 remaining in regulation. Atlanta secured the win when Brad Navin (1G) scored an empty-net goal with 16 ticks of the clock left.
Thomas Frazee (1G, 2A), Nesbitt (1G, 1A), Nathan Condon (1G, 1A) and Tyer Shiplo (1G) all scored while Brock Higgs (1A), Ian Barleaux (1A), Nunn (1A), and Fiddler (1A) all picked up assists in the Atlanta win.
Kent Patterson got the start in goal for Atlanta and made 32 saves on 35 shots in the W while two goalies split time for South Carolina in the loss and combined recorded 24 saves on 28 Atlanta shots.
Two Gladiators are in the conference Top 10 in points heading to Week 3 of the ECHL schedule. Frazee is tied for fourth with seven points (1G, 6A) while Nesbitt is tied with three other scorers for ninth on the list with six (3G, 3A). Iles is 1-1 after three starts in goal with a 0.914 SV% while allowing 2.34 goals per game.
Atlanta will travel to South Carolina to play the Greenville Swamp Rabbits on Friday night at the Bon Secours Wellness Arena. It will be the first meeting between the division rivals this season. The Swamp Rabbits are 3-1-0 (6 PTs.) and sitting at No. 3 in the South.
The Gladiators play home games at the 11,355-seat Arena at Infinite Energy Center (formerly the Arena at Gwinnett Center) which is located just off I-85 on Sugarloaf Parkway in Duluth. Parking is always free.
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