Bonar Shuts Out Greenville in 3-0 Road Win

For the second night in a row, the Atlanta Gladiators faced off against the Greenville Swamp Rabbits, however, this time at the Bon Secours Wellness Arena in Greenville, SC. Goalie Sean Bonar stopped all 36 shots he faced and added an assist while Lindsay Sparks notched two tallied in the shutout win.

After a scoreless opening frame, the Gladiators netted the first goal of the contest to go ahead 1-0 at the 13:02 mark of the second period. Josh Atkinson won the race to a loose puck on the boards and chipped a pass out of the defensive zone to Lindsay Sparks. The University of Michigan grad then used a burst of speed to get past the defenders for a breakaway, and skated into the zone to wire a shot into the top corner for his fifth goal of the season. Sean Bonar was credited with the secondary assist on the goal for his first point since the 2015-16 season.

Atlanta then doubled their lead to 2-0 with 6:09 remaining in the third period. Greenville won the faceoff in their defensive zone, but Derek Nesbitt stole the puck off the stick of a defender and carried it around the net to the hash-marks on the far boards. There, the Gladiators captain fired a shot into the net for his sixth goal of the year.

The Gladiators sealed the 3-0 victory with an empty net goal from Sparks with 2:14 remaining in the third, his second mark of the game which was also assisted by Atkinson.

Greenville managed 36 shots on net in the game but Bonar stood tall to earn his first career ECHL shutout. Able to avenge their loss from last night, Atlanta improved to 16-18-1-1 but remain in fifth in the South Division with 34 points. Meanwhile, Greenville dropped to 17-14-2-1 with the loss on home ice, but maintain their position in third in the division with 37 points.

Up next, Atlanta will return to the Infinite Energy Arena for a matchup with Florida to complete their three-games in three-days stretch on Sunday Afternoon. The puck drop between the Gladiators and Everblades is scheduled for 2:05pm tomorrow in Duluth, GA.