The Atlanta Gladiators defeated the Utah Grizzlies 4-1 on Sunday afternoon to complete the weekend sweep of Utah. Isak Walther struck twice, scoring his first professional goal, and the game winning goal in the victory. Gladiators netminder T.J. Semptimphelter stopped 17/18 for his first professional win.

The Gladiators and Grizzlies met for the second time in as many days at Gas South Arena, as Atlanta defeated Utah 3-2 in overtime on Saturday night. Both teams opted to start a different goaltender than the night prior, as Utah went with Dryden McKay in goal, while the Gladiators started T.J. Semptimphelter.

The first period didn’t produce any scoring and featured stop and go action, as both teams traded possession between frequent whistles. Utah had an opportunity on the power play with 7:11 left in the period as Anthony Firriolo went to the penalty box for holding, but the Gladiators penalty kill was up to the task and kept it a scoreless game. While the period ended scoreless, Atlanta did a nice job of putting pucks on net, outshooting Utah 11-3.

Atlanta broke through in the second period as Isak Walther stole the show. The Swedish forward tipped an Anthony Firriolo shot into the back of the net for his first professional goal, 6:22 into the second period to give the Gladiators a 1-0 lead. Chad Nychuk factored in on Walther’s goal with the secondary assist. Walther doubled his career total just 5:36 later, as he tapped in a loose puck at the side of the net to extend the Gladiators lead to 2-0. Carson Denomie and Alex Young earned the assists, as Denomie notched his 100^th career professional point. Utah came roaring back before the period’s end, as Christian Felton earned his first professional goal from Tyler Gratton to cut Atlanta’s lead to 2-1. Felton’s goal came with 2:02 left in the second period. Atlanta outshot Utah 18-10 in the second period, and 29-13 through 40 minutes.

The Gladiators took control in the third period, as Alex Young resumed the scoring for Atlanta to put them up 3-1 with his first of the season from Walther and Denomie. Young was able to smack in a loose puck in the crease for the score, 8:41 into the final frame. Utah went on the power play 11:34 into the period, but disaster struck for the Grizzlies. Louis Boudon forced a turnover at the Grizzlies blue line and was stopped on the breakaway by McKay, but Mickey Burns slammed the puck into the back of the net for a short-handed goal on the follow up. Burns’ first of the year was assisted by Boudon 12:30 into the third. Atlanta was able to fend off the Grizzlies comeback attempts and cruise to a 4-1 victory to improve to 2-0 on the season.

T.J. Semptimphelter earned his first professional win stopping 17/18 shots. Atlanta peppered McKay with shots, as the Utah netminder stopped 35/39 in the loss. The Gladiators won the special teams battle, going 3/3 on the penalty kill and 0/1 on the power play. Atlanta outshot Utah 39-18 in the win.

Isak Walther finished the day with two goals and an assist, and was named the first star of the game. T.J Semptimphelter was named the second star of the game stopping 17/18 in his Gladiators debut. Anthony Firriolo notched another multi-point game with two assists and was named the third star of the game. Firriolo ends the two game set with two goals and two assists. Alex Young had a multi-point game with a goal and an assist, as did Carson Denomie with two assists on the afternoon.

Atlanta improves to 5-1-2 all-time vs Utah with the win today. These two teams will meet again to wrap up the five game season series at Maverick Center in West Valley City, UT on December 10^th, 12^th, and 13^th.

The Gladiators hit the road for the first time this season to take on the Orlando Solar Bears at Kia Center on Thursday at 7:00 PM. It will be Atlanta’s first matchup against a divisional opponent this season. On Friday the Gladiators will take on the Florida Everblades at Hertz Arena at 7:30 PM. Fans can watch all games this season on FloSports or tune in on YouTube for the audio stream.