DULUTH, Ga. - The Atlanta Gladiators (3-4-2-0) were defeated by the Jacksonville Icemen (2-2-1-0) by a final score of 5-0 on Friday night, at the Vystar Veterans Memorial Arena, in Jacksonville, Florida.
Drew DeRidder got the start in between the pipes for the Gladiators, while Justen Close made his second professional start for Jacksonville.
At 3:12, the Icemen would score the game’s first goal, as Ty Cheveldayoff (1) tipped in a point shot from Garret Van Whye through Drew DeRidder.
Late in the period, Atlanta defenseman Brenden Datema went off for tripping, sending the Icemen to their first power play of the contest. 1:34 into the man advantage, Chris Grando (1) one-timed a pass from Liam Coughlin into the net, doubling the advantage for Jacksonville.
A quiet middle frame resulted in a 2-0 score after 40 minutes, with the shots-on-goal even at 19 a piece.
An early power-play opportunity come the third period would give the Gladiators life, but Jacksonville’s penalty kill and goaltender Justen Close kept Atlanta’’s offense at bay.
At 7:20 defenseman Peter Tischke dished a pass from the mid-slot to Icemen captain Christopher Brown (1), extending Jacksonville’s lead to 3-0.
At 11:05 Icemen forward Zach Jordan (3) fired a wrist shot past Drew DeRidder, making the score 4-0, Jacksonville.
The Icemen added one more before regulation concluded, with Justin McRae (1) scoring at 16:20.
Drew DeRidder made 29 saves on 34 shots in the loss for the Gladiators, while Justen Close made all 28 saves en route to his first professional shutout.
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