Orlando, Fl. A determined Atlanta Gladiators (15-23-2-0) group fell behind by two-goals twice, but a late rally from the Gladiators saw them score four-unanswered goals in the third period to beat the Orlando Solar Bears (20-11-5-0) by a score of 6-4 Saturday evening in Orlando, Florida.
First Star: Brendan Hoffman (ATL) - 1 goal, game winning goal, +2
Second Star: Micah Miller (ATL) - 2 goals, 2 assists, +3
Third Star: Michael Marchesan (ATL) - 1 goal, 1 assist
Orlando wasted no time getting on the board as Ryan Cox scored before the two-minute mark to open the score for the Solar Bears 1-0 (1:55).
Just past the midway point of the opening period Orlando extended their lead to 2-0 when Mitchell Hoelscher netted his 17th goal of the year (13:10).
Atlanta cut the Solar Bears lead in half just under a minute later to make it a 2-1 game. Micah Miller banked a shot off Orlando goaltender Brandon Halverson from behind the goal line to pick up his 16th goal of the year.
The Gladiators drew even in the second period while on the power play to make it 2-2 (8:53). Robert Calisti wound up and blasted a slap shot past Halverson for his sixth goal of the season.
With just under seven-minutes to play in the second period Alex Frye put Orlando back in front as he scored to make it 3-2 (13:26).
Orlando built on their lead to open the third period as Jake Stevens scored just two-minutes into the final frame, making it a 4-2 game (2:04).
Atlanta trimmed their deficit to 4-3 just over three-minutes later (5:17). Michael Marchesan sent a hard shot from just inside the face off circle into the net for his sixth tally of the year.
The Gladiators drew even just before the midway point of the third period to tie the game at four (9:55). Micah Miller picked up a loose puck and wired it past Halverson for his second goal of the night and 17th of the season.
With three-minutes to go in the contest, Atlanta took their first lead of the night 5-4 (16:51). Brendan Hoffman sent a point shot on net that had eyes and it found its way into the goal for his first goal as an Atlanta Gladiator.
As time was running out Orlando pulled goaltender Halverson in favor of the extra attacker and Atlanta cashed in to make it 6-4 (18:43). Ryan Cranford sent a puck into the wide open cage to score his eighth goal of the year.
Brad Barone turned aside 33-shots in the victory for Atlanta, meanwhile Brandon Halverson allowed five-goals on 29-shots in the loss for Orlando.
Check out the highlights below.