North Charleston, SC – The South Carolina Stingrays defeated the Atlanta Gladiators 1-0 on Friday night at North Charleston Coliseum, with goaltender Mitchell Gibson earning a 33 save shutout.
Atlanta and South Carolina met for the second time this season after battling at Gas South Arena on 11/2, a 2-1 victory for the Gladiators. The same goalies that started that day dueled again, with T.J. Semptimphelter starting for Atlanta, and Mitchell Gibson for South Carolina.
The Gladiators got off to a good start in the first period, spending much of the first half in the South Carolina zone and outshooting the Stingrays. South Carolina had a chance on the power play but the Gladiators penalty kill was up to the task. Gibson and the Stingrays began to heat up towards the end of the period, with the Gladiators leading the shot count 11-7.
Atlanta started the second period on the power play but could not produce a goal out of it. South Carolina ramped up in the second period and were able to score the lone goal of the game 9:56 into the middle frame on a quick stretch pass through the neutral zone to Kyler Kupka who beat Semptimphelter one-on-one for a 1-0 lead. Josh Wilkins had the lone assist, the 100th of his ECHL career. About a minute following the goal, a scrum and a fight ensued with Joey Cipollone and Lynden Breen in the center of it. Both were issued five for fighting and a ten minute misconduct. The Stingrays outshot the Gladiators 12-5 in the second period, as Semptimphelter made a series of key stops throughout the period to keep it a 1-0 game.
The Gladiators did their best to test Gibson in the third in an attempt to tie the game, but it wasn’t enough to beat the Stingrays netminder who stopped everything they threw his way. Gibson put on a show as the Gladiators had two unsuccessful chances on the power play. Semptimphelter matched Gibson’s play to give Atlanta a chance to win, but ultimately South Carolina took the match 1-0, as the Gladiators fell to 8-2 on the season, and 4-1 on the road. It was a 33 save shutout for Mitch Gibson, while T.J. Semptimphelter stopped 21/22. Atlanta went 0/3 on the power play and 2/2 on the penalty kill.
The Gladiators will wrap up their four-game road trip on Saturday night in Jacksonville, taking on the Icemen at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena. Coverage on FloHockey and the Gladiators YouTube channel will begin at 6:40 PM, followed by a 7:00 puck drop.
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