Deja Vu in Greenville as Glads Use Third Period Comeback to Defeat Rabbits

The Gladiators and Swamp Rabbits battled for the second night in a row as they matched-up at the Bon Secours Wellness Arena on Saturday. With two goals in the third period for the second game in a row, Atlanta defeated Greenville 3-2 on road ice.

Atlanta opened the game’s scoring to take the 1-0 lead 17:46 into the first period. Luke Sandler had the puck come to his feet off the draw and sent a pass to Colin Sullivan at the point. The rookie defender then fired a shot towards net that was tipped by Darby Llewellyn in front and slipped past Ty Rimmer. The goal was the former Kitchener Rangers’ seventh of the season.

Greenville then tied the game at 1-1 with a power play goal 1:11 into the second period. Caleb Herbert took a shot on net from the near circle and was blocked by Sean Bonar. However, Bretton Cameron collected the rebound and lifted a pass to Evan Jasper in front, who tapped in the puck for his 12th goal of the year.

The Swamp Rabbits then took their first lead of the game with a shorthanded goal at the 16:52 mark of the middle frame. Jasper stole the puck deep in the offensive zone and skated towards the net, where he outlasted Dan Vladar and lifted a shot into the back of the goal for his second tally of the contest.

Less than three minutes into the third period, the Gladiators scored to bring the game even at 2-2. With a hard forecheck from Atlanta oncoming, the Greenville defender turned the puck over to Stephen Pierog in the far circle. The Guelph, ON native took a couple strides towards the net and wristed a shot top-shelf over the glove of Rimmer for his third goal of the season.

The visitors then retook the lead with a goal 11:48 into the third. Llewellyn stole the puck from a defender in the corner and found Taylor Doherty at the point with a pass. The 6-foot-8 defender then propelled a shot that got deflected in by Sandler to give Atlanta the 3-2 lead.

With their fourth straight victory over the Swamp Rabbits, Atlanta improved to 20-20-1-2 and remain in third in the South Division with 43 points. Meanwhile, Greenville dropped to 18-19-2-1 and fell to fifth in the division with 39 points.

Up next, the Gladiators and Swamp Rabbits will finish their three-in-three stretch with an afternoon matchup at the Bon Secours Wellness arena tomorrow. The puck drop between Atlanta and Greenville is scheduled for 3:00pm on Sunday.