DULUTH, Ga. The Atlanta Gladiators (13-22-1-0) fell to the Jacksonville Icemen (20-14-3-0) by a final score of 4-1 Friday night.
First Star: Craig Martin (JAX)
Second Star: Christopher Grando (JAX)
Third Star: Cody Sylvester (ATL)
The Icemen drew first blood as Craig Martin lofted the puck in the top right corner with a backhanded shot to put Jacksonville up 1-0. (1:54)
The Gladiators failed to generate any real offensive chances in the opening period, getting outshot 13-3 by the Icemen as they held their 1-0 advantage at the end of one.
The Icemen added on another tally in the second period as Damien Giroux buried a rebound past Gustavs Grigals to double the lead. (4:32)
Cody Sylvester cut the deficit in half on the power play with a one time blast from the right circle to bring the Gladiators back within one. (6:55)
The Icemen dashed the Gladiators’ hopes of tying the contest with a goal from Garrett Van Wyhe late in the third period to bring the score to 3-1. (17:36)
Jacksonville would add one more insurance goal for good measure, hitting the empty net to go up 4-1. (19:49)
Gustavs Grigals ended the night with 33 saves off of 36 shots while Michael Houser finished with 30 saves off of 31 shots.
The Glads will be back in action tomorrow night as they take on the South Carolina Stingrays for Star Wars Night. Puck drop is set for 7:00PM.
Check out the highlights below.