Glads Trump Aces in Shootout

Playing in their first of three straight games against Alaska, the Gladiators came away with an exciting 3-2 victory over the Aces on Friday night. Atlanta struck first against the Alaska Aces at the 13:55 mark of the first period off the stick of Tyler Murovich for this 100th point as a Gladiator. The alternate captain was perfectly positioned at the top of the crease when Ian Barteaux took a slap shot from the right circle. Murovich calmly redirected it into the net for the 1-0 lead and his 11th goal of the season. Barteaux picked up his fifth helper of the year while Justin Buzzeo was credited with the secondary assist.Just over a minute later, the Gladiators improved upon their early lead with a goal from Brock Higgs. After a fury of shots which were saved by Aces goaltender, Troy Redmann, the Kingston, ON native scooped the puck into the uncovered left side of the goal to make the score 2-0. The goal gave Higgs 12 tallies and 22 points on the season. J.T. Barnett and Tyler Shiplo were both credited with the assists on the play.Alaska cut the lead in half less than two minutes into the second period. The Aces took advantage of a 2-on-1 opportunity as Peter Sivak passed across the ice to Tim Coffman who wristed one past Gladiators goalie, Matt Ginn. The score is Coffman's 10th tally of the season while Sivak notches his 12th assist of the year.Coffman scored his second goal and tied the game two at the 12:35 mark of the second period. The Ace's leading scorer capitalized on a rebounded puck off the right pad of Ginn after initially saving a shot by Sivak. The pair tallied their second points of the night while Mitch Jones picked up the secondary assist.After a scoreless third period and overtime, the Gladiators and Aces went into a shootout tied 2-2. The Aces missed on their first two opportunities while Garry Nunn converted the first for the Atlanta, allowing Derek Nesbitt to claim the 3-2 victory and extra point for the Gladiators with the second penalty shot. Matt Ginn, who stopped both Alaska attempts, remains perfect in shootout shots against this season. The Gladiators improved to 21-11-2 and 44 points on the season, pushing them to fourth place in the Eastern Conference. The Alaska Aces fall to 11-18-1-3 and but improve to 26 points for the year with the one point in the shootout loss.