RECAP: JEREMY HANZEL SCORES OVERTIME WINNER AS THRASHERS SWEEP THE GHOST PIRATES

DULUTH, Ga. – The Atlanta Gladiators (25-24-5-2) defeated the Savannah Ghost Pirates (25-25-3-0) in overtime on Sunday afternoon, by a final score of 5-4, at Gas South Arena in Duluth, Georgia.

Ethan Haider got the start in goal for the Gladiators, and on the other side of the rink stood Evan Cormier for Savannah.

After getting shutout the night previous, Savannah came out with increased intensity. That intensity would pay off, as at 1:11, Ghost Pirates forward Patrick Guay (13th) slapped a one-timer into the net, assisted by Dennis Cesana and Reece Vitelli.

Less than a minute later, Cody Sylvester (20th) scored on a one-timer of his own, picking the top corner of the cage. Jackson Pierson and Joey Cipollone assisted on the tally.

The back-and-forth affair didn’t stop there, as shortly thereafter, Dominiks Marcinkevics (3rd) gave the Thrashers their first lead of the game when he deposited a blocked shot past Cormier. Blake Murray and Dylan Carabia assisted on the goal.

A few moments later, at 2:40, Savannah defensemen Andre Anania (2nd) tied the game, executing a forehand backhand move to perfection.

In the second period, the early scoring continued, as Savannah forward Kai Schwindt (6th) deflected a wrist shot from Andre Anania past Ethan Haider just 19 seconds in.

At 7:18, the Kelowna, British Columbia-native Cody Sylvester (21st) recorded his second goal of the game, after receiving a crisp cross-ice pass from Jackson Pierson. Derek Topatigh was credited the secondary assist on the goal.

51 seconds into the third period, Atlanta's mid-season All-Star Derek Topatigh (8th) finished an outstanding passing play from Dominiks Marcinkevics and Randy Hernandez. Topatigh pulled the puck to the backhand, and in stride tossed the biscuit upstairs past Evan Cormier.

With the net empty, Cody Sylvester had a chance at the empty-net and the hat-trick, seemingly breaking loose from Savannah pressure. Sylvester would be held up in the neutral zone, and despite having a clear lane to the empty-net, play continued.

On the ensuing sequence, the Thrashers would get a big time clear, and Joey Cipollone won the foot race to negate a potential icing with eight seconds left. Though Cipollone prevented a defensive zone face off, he lost an edge when he reached the goal line, and went head first into the end boards. Despite the hard crash into the dasher, Cipollone popped right back up, but was outnumbered. The Ghost Pirates took the puck, and found a cherry-picking Dennis Cesana (13th), who unbelievably tied the contest on a breakaway, with 1.4 seconds remaining in regulation time.

In overtime, Evan Nause went off for a hook, and the Thrashers had a chance to win the game with a power-play goal. After getting snuffed out multiple times by Evan Cormier, Jeremy Hanzel (3rd) unleashed a howitzer five-hole on the Savannah goaltender, becoming the overtime hero in front of a crowd of 7,347.

"We leaked a little oil at some key moments of the game, specifically the start and end of regulation, but we stuck with it, and managed our hiccups well," head coach Derek Nesbitt said. "These are playoff games for us already, and we found a way to get the two points. It was a very important game for the group, and good on the guys for sticking together and getting it done in the end."

Ethan Haider made 24 saves on 28 shots in the overtime win for the Thrashers, while Evan Cormier stopped 38 of 43 in the loss for the Ghost Pirates.

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