DULUTH, Ga. - The Atlanta Gladiators (1-2-0-0) dropped their first ever matchup against the Savannah Ghost Pirates (2-0-0-0) on Sunday afternoon at Gas South Arena by a score of 4-1. Darion Hanson stood tall in net for Savannah and stopped 46 of 47 Atlanta shots.
First Star: Darion Hanson (SAV) - win, 46 saves
Second Star: Pat Guay (SAV) - goal, assist
Third Star: Connor Corcoran (SAV) - two assists
Savannah kicked off the rivalry with a goal just a minute into the first ever meeting between the two teams. Daniel D'Amato fired a harmless-looking shot from the blue line that deflected off of Pat Guay and over Atlanta goaltender Tyler Parks into the net (0:58).
Marcus Kallionkieli extended Savannah's lead with his first goal of the season 15 minutes into the second period (14:18). Later in the third, Vincent Marleau buried a power-play goal from the low slot to put the Ghost Pirates ahead 3-0 (6:21).
In the middle of the second, Savannah's Brandon Pedersen was awarded a penalty shot and rang the puck off the left post after pulling the puck to his forehand (14:18).
Paul McAvoy broke Darion Hanson's shutout bid in the third period with his first goal of the season (13:31). McAvoy collected a rebound from Kaid Oliver and went blocker side on Hanson.
Max Kaufman finished the scoring with a late tally to make it 4-1 (15:41).
Hanson finished the game with 46 saves on 47 shots for Savannah while Parks suffered his first defeat of the season with 31 saves on 35 shots.
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