NORTH CHARLESTON, SC. – The Atlanta Gladiators (26-28-5-2) were defeated by the South Carolina Stingrays (42-14-3-2) by a final score of 3-1 on Saturday night at the North Charleston Coliseum in North Charleston, South Carolina.
Drew DeRidder was the net minder for the Gladiators, while Mitchell Gibson was between the pipes for South Carolina.
After a scoreless first period, in which the Gladiators outshot the Stingrays 7-5, South Carolina got on the board first, courtesy of Romain Rodzinski (6th) just past the halfway mark of the frame. A shot from the left circle was gloved down by Jeremy Hanzel, but unfortunately, the puck hit DeRidder's upper body, dropped down to ice level, and Rodzinski was at the doorstep to knock it home.
For the remainder of the period, the Stingrays held the momentum against Atlanta as they extended their lead in the shots on goal category to 13-4.
Early in the final frame, at 1:14, Stingray forward and former Gladiator Micah Miller (19th) scored a short-handed goal after Charlie Combs got called for tripping in the waning seconds of the second period. Miller forced a turnover and got a one-on-one scoring opportunity against DeRidder, in which he backhanded the biscuit through DeRidder’s legs after making a couple dekes.
At 14:23, South Carolina pushed their lead further when Stingray rookie Dean Loukus (1st) scored his first professional goal to give his team a 3-0 lead. Josh Wilkins drove the net, and Loukus was in the right place in the right time to score.
Before the final buzzer closed out regulation, the Gladiators did find the back of the net, as Joey Cipollone (12th) tipped in a Jeremy Hanzel one-timer.
Drew DeRidder made 22 saves on 25 shots in the loss for the Gladiators, while Mitchell Gibson, who had a shutout brewing for 59:56, stopped 20 of 21 in the win for the Stingrays.
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