West Valley City, UT – The Atlanta Gladiators defeated the Utah Grizzlies 6-3 at Maverik Center on Wednesday night. Isak Walther scored two goals and had one assist as Atlanta improved to 15-5 on the season. 

The Gladiators and Grizzlies met for the first time since opening weekend, in which Atlanta swept Utah at Gas South Arena. Ethan Haider started in net for the Gladiators, while Kyle Keyser got the nod for the Grizzlies.

Atlanta got off to a hot start, scoring 59 seconds into the game as Isak Walther scored his eighth goal of the season from Louis Boudon to put the Gladiators up early. Carson Denomie added to the Atlanta lead with his second goal of the season from Kalan Lind and Joey Cipollone 3:41 left in the opening frame. Lind found Denomie in the slot with a pass from below the goal line on the scoring play and extended his point streak to four games (2g, 3a). Utah outshot Atlanta 8-4 in the first period, but the Gladiators had a 2-0 lead after the first.

The Grizzlies cut into the Gladiators lead 4:31 into the second period, as Christian Felton scored on a 4 on 2 rush up ice from Danny Dzhaniyev and Griffin Ness to make it a 2-1 game. The Gladiators responded with two goals in 15 seconds from Ryan Nolan and Louis Boudon to take a 4-1 lead. Atlanta had all the momentum, as in the moments afterward the Gladiators went on the power play – but Utah snatched it back, scoring a shorthanded goal from Evan Friesen to cut the lead to 4-2. The Grizzlies outshot the Gladiators 12-6 in the second period but Atlanta continued to bury their chances, leading 4-2 after two periods.

Isak Walther scored his second goal of the night and team leading ninth of the season unassisted 1:25 into the third, powering toward the net and slipping the puck past Keyser to put Atlanta up 5-2. The Gladiators spent much of the end of regulation on the penalty kill, getting called for four penalties in the final ten minutes of the game. The penalty kill did a good job of killing off the first three penalties, but Utah was able to sneak one by Haider with 59 seconds left in regulation to make it 5-3. Luc Salem scored on the power play from Dzhaniyev and Ness. 15 seconds later, Ryan Francis scored an empty net goal to ice the game and give the Gladiators the 6-3 victory.

Ethan Haider stopped 28/31 in his eighth victory of the season. The Gladiators scored 6 goals on 15 shots. Atlanta went 0/3 on the power play and 5/6 on the penalty kill as it improved to 15-5, picking up its second win in a row. Isak Walther was named the first star of the game with 2g and 1a. Louis Boudon was named the second star of the game with 1g and 1a. Carson Denomie was the third star with 1g.

The Gladiators and Grizzlies face-off again on Friday and Saturday night to conclude the three-game set at Maverik Center. Puck drop is set for 9:10 PM EST, with coverage on the Gladiators Broadcast Network on FloHockey and YouTube beginning at 8:50 EST.