RECAP: First period frenzy lifts Gladiators to 4-0 victory over Icemen

DULUTH, GA - The Atlanta Gladiators (21-42-3-1) defeated the Jacksonville Icemen (41-20-5-1) by a final score of 4-0 Wednesday night after scoring three consecutive goals in the first period.

BOX SCORE

1. Parker AuCoin (ATL) - 2 goals, +2

2. Gustavs Grigals (ATL) - 24 save shutout, win 

3. Luke Prokop (ATL) - 1 goal, +3

The Gladiators came right out of the gate armed, dangerous and on a mission, tallying three goals inthe first period in one of their hottest starts of the entire season.

Brendan Hoffman got things rolling for the Gladiators with a wrap-around goal to put Atlanta in front 1-0 early in the contest. (2:50) 

The Gladiators struck again minutes later as Luke Prokop fired a fluttering puck from the point past the glove of Matt Vernon to double their lead. (5:47) 

Just seconds after a huge penalty kill, the Gladiators struck for a third time as Parker AuCoin netted his first goal with the team after sniping the top corner to give Atlanta a three-goal cushion and cap off their fiery start. (12:25 

The Icemen attempted to stop the bleeding with a quick goalie change, bringing in Joe Murdaca in relief for Vernon.

The change in net proved to offer little issue for a Gladiators team that had no intention of slowing down, as Parker AuCoin tallied his second of the night, crushing a centering feed from Prokop to give Atlanta a 4-0 advantage.

“It was great, we worked the last couple days and talked about starting on time and obviously we did, going up 3-0 after the first.” First star AuCoin remarked of the team’s hot start, “I think we just kept it going after that and kept it simple and didn’t really give them any chances, so good on us.”

The Gladiators clamped down in the third period, securing a momentous win as they look to close out the regular season at home in victorious fashion. 

Gustavs Davis Grigals enjoyed perfection in net, denying all 24 Jacksonville shots and earning the game’s second star honors in the process.

Coach Derek Nesbitt had high praise for Grigals’ clutch saves and smart play down the stretch. “He was great.” Said Nesbitt, “[Made] saves when we needed, and really good with the puck too when we needed it and he made some good puck plays especially on the PK and the power play just to advance it and shut some stuff down early. That’s huge.”

Grigals made it clear that his second shutout of the season was in large part due to his team’s play. “The team played really good” said Grigals, “As we saw in the first period, I didn’t have much to do there and in the second they blocked a lot of shots and in the third as well.”

Despite facing just 24 shots, Grigals stood tall whenever the puck did come his way and noted that there are pros and cons to facing both a lot of shots and a little. “Today it was just keeping myself in the game mentally and I think I did a good job in the first and the second [period], so it goes both ways.” 

Vernon and Murdaca ended the night with three and 13 saves respectively off 20 Atlanta shots.

Check out the highlights below.