DULUTH, Ga. - The Atlanta Gladiators (26-30-6-2) were defeated by the Greenville Swamp Rabbits (25-33-6-2) by a final score of 7-4 on Saturday night, at Gas South Arena, in Duluth, Georgia.
Ethan Haider received the start for the Gladiators, while Mattias Sholl, making his first professional appearance, was the netminder for Greenville.
In the first period, at 8:10, Gladiator forward Alex Young (10th) reached double digit goals for the first time in his young career by firing a one-timer past Sholl after a deceptive dish from Carson Denomie.
A few minutes later at 10:26, newly-signed forward Nicholas Wong (1st) scored his first goal as a Gladiator, and as a pro, by striking the biscuit into the basket after blazing past a defender.
The Swamp Rabbits responded less than 30 seconds later, when Ryan O'Hara (1st) scored by just tossing a shot to the Atlanta net. The puck went off of Anthony Firriolo, who tried to block the shot, into the net.
Despite having a 2-1 lead, the Gladiators were losing the shot on goal battle to the Swamp Rabbits, 17-13.
At 1:21 of the middle frame, Jackson Pierson (8th) took a cross-ice pass, and ripped it past Sholl to extend the Atlanta advantage to two.
Later in the period, Greenville forward Austin Saint (11th) lit the lamp to make the score 3-2.
At 10:40, Greenville forward Jack Brackett (9th) put the puck into the back of the net after a pass from Dustin Geregach to tie the game at 3-3.
Coming out of the final intermission, the Swamp Rabbits capitalized early, as Brent Pedersen (14th) put the road side up, 4-3.
Moments later, at 3:10, Carter Savoie (23rd) deflected a shot from Ben Poisson into the net, making the score 5-3, Swamp Rabbits.
At 10:42 of the third period, Swamp Rabbits defender Dustin Geregach (1st) scored his first goal of the 2024-25 campaign, extending the advantage to three goals.
The Gladiators made one final push to stay alive in the game, as rookie forward Mickey Burns (1st) beat Sholl short side to secure his first professional goal late into regulation time.
In the loss for the Gladiators, Ethan Haider made 34 saves on 41 shots, but Mattias Sholl saved 33 of 37 in the win for Greenville.
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