Gwinnett Sports Report publishes a weekly Gladiator feature that includes game results and roster activity. The game recaps are provided by Chris Treft, the communications director for the Atlanta Gladiators, while official stats are provided by the ECHL.
Game Results
(Gladiators players in red)
(10-21) vs. Florida Everbaldes: Loss, 5-1
The Atlanta Gladiators returned to action at the Infinite Energy Arena on Saturday night as they fell to the Florida Everblades by a final score of 5-1. Mitchell Heard was the key component to the Everblades victory, as he notched a point on two of the three Florida goals.
Florida would open the scoring for the night with a power play tally at the 18:27 mark of the first period. Nelson Armstrong blasted in the goal for the visitors with a one-time slap shot from the point. Both Gus Young and Michael Kirkpatrick were credited with an assist on Armstrong’s second strike of the year.
The Everblades then doubled their lead with their second power play goal of the night 5:07 into the second period. This time Clark Seymour was able to rip a hard shot from the point that sailed over the glove of Matt Ginn to put the visitors ahead 2-0. Mitchell Heard picked up the primary assist on the play, while Steven Lorentz collected the secondary helper.
Just over a minute of playing time later, Atlanta struck to cut the deficit to 2-1. After Phil Lane kept the puck in the offensive zone, he sent a pass down the boards to Lindsay Sparks. The Ontario native then side-stepped by a defender and found Thomas Frazee open in the slot, who tapped in a centering pass for his second goal of the season.
Joe Cox then helped the visitors to regain their two-goal lead at the 7:34 mark of the middle frame. Heard corralled a loose puck in front of the net for the Everblades and sent a pass through two defenders to Cox. The rookie then slipped a shot into the open net to put Florida ahead 3-1.
Florida sealed the victory with two goals in the last two minutes. Zack Kamrass and Matt Berry tallied the late goals to put Florida ahead 5-1. Their second loss in as many nights left the Gladiators with a record of 0-4-0-0 and keeps Atlanta in seventh in South division without a point. Meanwhile, the Everblades improved to 4-0-0-0 and remain atop the division with eight points.
Shots on Goal: Atlanta (28), Florida (32)
(10-20) vs. Florida Everblades: Loss, 4-2
The Atlanta Gladiators returned to the Infinite Energy Arena for the first time in the 2017-18 season on Friday night as they welcomed the Florida Everblades for their home opener. A strong showing on the power play for the Everblades proved to be enough, as they outlasted the Gladiators and picked up a 4-2 road win.
Atlanta opened the scoring for the game 17:53 into the first period. Thomas Frazee carried the puck into the offensive zone for the Gladiators and dropped a pass to Ben Marshall. The defenseman then ripped a shot off the pad of Florida goalie Martin Ouellette that rebounded to the front of the net where Chase Witala tapped in the loose puck. The British Columbia native’s tally was his first of the year and put the Gladiators ahead 1-0.
The Everblades then tied the game at 1-1 just 1:08 into the middle frame. Michael Kirkpatrick was credited with the first goal for the visitors after he knocked a bouncing puck over the glove of Atlanta’s goaltender Matt Ginn. Both Keegan Kanzig and Stephen MacAulay notched an assist on Kirkpatrick’s second goal of the season.
A 5-on-3 power play notch would then give Florida their first lead of the night. Josiah Didier found the back of the net for the Everblades with a powerful one-timer from the point to go ahead 2-1. Steven Lorentz and Clark Seymour picked up the assists on the play after cycling the puck in the offensive zone during the two-man power play.
Florida would double their lead 1:28 into the third period to make it 3-1. Mitchell Heard scored for the visitors with a forehand-backhand move on the penalty shot. The goal was the former Colorado Avalanche draft pick’s second on the season.
The Everblades would seal their victory with a goal 16:37 into the third period. Heard tapped in a rebound in front of the net to make the score 4-1. Atlanta would reply with a power play goal of their own with just 1:17 remaining in the third. The strike was Luke Sandler’s first of the year, but proved to be too little, too late.
Shots on Goal: Atlanta (29), Florida (33)
Roster Activity October 10 – October 22
October 19: The Atlanta Gladiators announced that the Boston Bruins of the NHL recalled goaltender Dan Vladar to the Providence Bruins of the AHL.
Up next, Atlanta will travel to Jacksonville, Florida for the first time in Gladiators history for a matchup with their new in-division foe the Jacksonville Icemen on Thursday night. The puck drops between the Gladiators and Icemen at 7:30 on October 26 at the Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena.
The Gladiators are members of the ECHL, the nation’s premier "AA" hockey league. All home games are played at the 11,355-seat Infinite Energy Arena, located just off I-85 on Sugarloaf Parkway in Duluth – where parking is always free.
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