By Shelby Rabideaux

The Gladiators extended their perfect season with a 2-1 victory against the South Carolina Stingrays on Sunday afternoon. The game started scoreless between both teams before the Gladiators scored in the third period, one of the goals shorthanded! Here is the play by play on how the Gladiators Sunday afternoon game went.  

Fresh off a 4-2 victory against the Savannah Ghost Pirates Saturday night, the Atlanta Gladiators look to remain undefeated this season as they take on the South Carolina Stingrays at home. Today marks the 241st meeting between the two teams, and the first of the 2025-26 season. T.J Semptimphelter started in net for the Gladiators, his first start after a shutout in Florida against the Everblades last Friday. As for the Stingrays, Mitchell Gibson got the start between the pipes. 

The first period didn’t produce any scoring and featured stop and go action, as both teams traded possession between whistles. The Gladiators had an opportunity on the power play early on in the period with Reilly Webb heading to the penalty box for a tripping minor. However, the Stingrays kept it a scoreless game. Stemptimphelter and the Gladiators penalty kill continued to hold strong when Ryan Francis headed to the penalty box for tripping at 10:49 into the period. While the period ended scoreless, Atlanta did a nice job of putting pucks on the net, outshooting South Carolina 11-6. 

The Gladiators came out in the second period determined to put some points on the board, however both teams continued to be scoreless. The Gladiators went on the penalty kill early on as Isak Walther headed to the box at 4:17 into the period. Mickey Burns had a chance to put a number on the board, but Gibson denied his attempt. Halfway through the period, the Gladiators had another chance to score on a power play at 12:27. Dean Lokus was sent to the penalty box for roughing, quickly followed by teammate Connor Moore. Atlanta having the two man advantage for a minute and 30 seconds. The Gladiators fought hard to find the back up the net, but the power play was unsuccessful. Late into the period Mike McNamee helped keep the Stingrays off the board with a critical defensive play. As Semptimphelter slid across from right to left completing a save on one side of the net, the puck found its way in possession of the Stingrays, leaving a chance to score. McNamee saved the day and cleared the puck out of the blue paint and kept both teams scoreless moving into the final period. 

The third period started with excitement! The Gladiators finally broke through with a shorthanded goal by Carson Denomie, his first of the season, assisted by Joey Cippolone only 20 seconds into the period! Fresh off the faceoff, Atlanta gains possession of the puck and Joey Cipollone finds the back of the net, assisted by Mike McNamee, making the game 2-0. With two minutes left in the period the Stingrays pulled Mitchell Gibson from the net, giving them a man advantage. The Stingrays capitalized on this and finally scored in the third period, but it was not enough to defeat the Gladiators. The Gladiators win, remaining undefeated this season! 

The Gladiators’ next game will be on Wednesday, November 5th, at 10:30AM, against the Greenville Swamp Rabbits. This will be the Gladiators first School Day of the season! Fans can get tickets at atlantagladiators.com or watch live on FloSports or listen in on YouTube.