DULUTH, Ga. The Atlanta Gladiators (9-5-0-0) bested the Savannah Ghost Pirates (4-7-2-1) by a final score of 7-3 Friday night, at Gas South Arena, in Duluth, Georgia.
Three Stars:
1. ATL - Michael Marchesan - 2G, 1A
2. SAV - Simon Pinard - 2G
3. ATL - Alex Whelan - 1G, 3A
The Gladiators got things going early as they exploded for three goals within the first seven minutes of the contest. Mitch Walinski was the first to light the lamp as he buried a pass from Alex Whelan to put his squad up by one, with his first goal of the season. (3:26)
Michael Marcheson doubled the Glads lead less than two minutes later as he rifled a shot past Savannah netminder Jimmy Poreda. (5:00)
Whelan would then add on a tally of his own, driving into the crease and backhanding a puck home to extend the lead even further, completing the team’s first period hat-trick. (6:37)
Forward Simon Pinard put his team on the board just two minutes later as the Ghost Pirates cut the deficit down to two. (8:35)
Feeling the pressure, the Ghost Pirates opened the scoring in the second frame with a power play goal. (3:59)
Later in the frame, Atlanta extended their lead back to two, as Ryan Cranford buried a cross ice pass from Evan Dougherty (9:32)
Savannah grabbed would score their second of the period shortly thereafter to bring the score to 4-3. (13:04)
Come the third, Michael Marchesan would net his second of the game and third of the season, giving the Gladiators some breathing room. (3:48)
With just under three minutes remaining in regulation, Mitch Fossier would hit the empty net, making it a 6-3 game. (17:07)
Carson Gicewicz would another for the Gladiators in the final two minutes of the game. (18:58)
Check out the highlights below!
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