RECAP: BRENDEN DATEMA SCORES FIRST PRO GOAL AS ATLANTA DEFEATS SAVANNAH 4-3

SAVANNAH, Ga. - The Atlanta Gladiators (16-14-3-1) defeated the Savannah Ghost Pirates (17-13-2-0) by a final score of 4-3 on Sunday afternoon, at Enmarket Arena, in Savannah, Georgia. 

Ethan Haider got the nod in net for the Gladiators, coming into the game winning seven straight starts. On the other end of the ice, the 6'9 Cooper Black started for Savannah. 

At 10:14 of the first period, with the Ghost Pirates captain Logan Drevitch in the penalty box, Cody Sylvester (10th) rifled a one-timer from the right circle, perfectly over the blocker of Black. 

1:41 later, while on a power play of their own, Savannah leveled the score. Devon Paliani netted his team-leading 14th goal of the season after a scramble in front of the Gladiator goal. 

Less than two minutes later, Ghost Pirate defenseman Evan Nause (2nd) scored from the blue line, giving the home side their first lead of the game. 

In the second, it took the Glads just 1:49 to tie the score, as Cody Sylvester stuffed in his second goal of the game, 11th of the season, andf 200th point in a Gladiator sweater. 

At 6:50, Atlanta found the net again, as Easton Armstrong (6th) pounced on a rebound to give the Glads their second lead of the evening. 

Late in the second, while on an abbreviated power play, Ross Armour scored hiss league-leading eigth power play goal, deposting a one-time into the top of the net. 

In the dying seconds of the period, the line of Carson Denomie, Jackson Pierson, and Ryan Cranford dominated in the opposition's end, resulting in Brenden Datema (1) burying his first professional goal at 19:50. 

In the third, the Gladiators locked the game down, holding Savannah to just seven shots in the final frame.

Ethan Haider made 27 saves on 30 shots in the win for the Gladiators, while Cooper Black stopped 19 of 23 in the loss for the Ghost Pirates.

"We weren't happy with how we started last night," captain Eric Neiley said. "With the three games in three nights, we wanted to come out and be ready from the get go. Big goal by Dates [Brenden Datema] had us feeling good going into the third period, and we were able to lock it down from there."

On tonight's game, head coach Derek Nesbitt commented, "I thought they controlled the game a little bit early on, but we made good puck decisions, and consistently battled, which I believe took away from their rush game. Some teams you match up well against, and some teams you don't, and I think with Savannah, and the way they play, we're kind of opposites. This is one team where we must stick to our game and make them plays ours. Last night we were sucked into playing theirs, and we didn't come out on top. It's going to be a good battle between these two clubs as the season moves along."

Check out the highlights below!