Jacksonville, Fl. Joe Murdaca and David Tendeck combined for 35 saves, as the tandem helped the Atlanta Gladiators (26-20-5-1) shutout the Jacksonville Icemen (33-16-2-0) 3-0 on Friday evening at the Vystar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Florida.
First Star: Joe Murdaca (ATL) - 29 saves
Second Star: Sanghoon Shin (ATL) - 1 goal
Third Star: Charles Williams (JAX) - 17 saves
The Gladiators opened the scoring just past the midway point of the first period to lead 1-0 (7:41). Michal Mrazik backhanded home his fifth goal of the season to give Atlanta the lead.
Both goaltenders stood tall in the second period to preserve a 1-0 game heading into the final frame of the contest.
In the third period both teams tried to find an edge offensively, but David Tendeck of the Gladiators and Charles Williams of the Jacksonville Icemen stood tall in their respective nets.
With just over a minute to play, Jacksonville pulled Williams in favor of the extra attacker and Atlanta made them pay, twice.
Sanghoon Shin scored to put Atlanta up 2-0 as he sent the puck into an empty net with 26 seconds remaining in the contest.
With two-seconds remaining on the clock, Cody Sylvester sealed the victory as he also scored on the empty net to make it 3-0 for the Gladiators
Joe Murdaca made 29 saves through two periods for the Gladiators, while David Tendeck turned aside another six in the final frame. Meanwhile, Charles Williams stopped 17 of the 18 shots he faced for Jacksonville.