DULUTH, Ga. – The Atlanta Gladiators (28-31-7-2) defeated the Jacksonville Icemen (41-20-7-1) by a final score of 3-2 on Sunday afternoon, at Gas South Arena, in Duluth, Georgia.
Atlanta's captain, Eric Neiley, prior to playing his final game on home ice, dropped the ceremonial first puck alongside his wife and son in front of a crowd of 5,259 at Gas South Arena.
Ethan Haider got the start in goal for the Gladiators, while Justen Close was between the pipes for the Icemen.
At 17:24 of the first period, Icemen forward Dalton Duhart (3rd) skated into the zone himself, and deked between a couple Gladiator defenders before striking the puck past Haider. The Icemen led 1-0 going into the first intermission.
At 6:29 of the second, Gladiator forward Joey Cipollone (15th) scored his third goal in a two game span, by beating Justen Close. Cipollone's tally was assisted by defender Zach Yoder and forward Carson Denomie.
Exactly 15-minutes into the middle frame, Anthony Firriolo (4th) helped Atlanta to take the lead, as he lit the lamp following a slapshot that skittered through Close's legs. With the goal, the Glads took their first lead of the contest, going up 2-1.
A few minutes later, Gladiator forward Tyler Drevitch (2nd) would go on to net his second goal of the year, assisted by Dylan Carabia and Ryan Cranford. Drevitch pounced on a rebound, and roofed it upstairs to extend Atlanta's advantage.
In the closing minutes of regulation time, at 18:22, Icemen forward and leading-scorer Olivier Nadeau (27th) gave his team a much-needed marker to stay in the game, as he strategically positioned his stick to deflect a shot by Bennett MacArthur into the Gladiator cage.
Despite Nadeau’s late goal, which gave the Icemen life, the Gladiators held on defensively to win their last home game of the season by a final score of 3-2.
Following the end of regulation, each and every single member of the Jacksonville Icemen stayed on the ice to shake Eric Neiley's hand. Pure. Class.
In the win for Atlanta, Ethan Haider saved 29 of 31 shots faced, while Justen Close stopped 23 of 26 shots in the loss for Jacksonville.
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