Savannah, GA – The Savannah Ghost Pirates defeated the Atlanta Gladiators 3-0 on Sunday afternoon at Enmarket Arena, as rookie goaltender Noah Giesbrecht stopped 26/26 for his first professional shutout.
In the final leg of a three-in-three weekend road trip, the Gladiators looked to earn points in four straight games after an overtime loss in South Carolina on Saturday night. Gladiators goaltender Ethan Haider made his third consecutive start in net, while the Ghost Pirates went with rookie netminder Noah Giesbrecht.
The Gladiators got off to a good start, creating scoring opportunities early and putting shots on goal. Despite their strong play, it was the Ghost Pirates the struck first with 3:39 left in the opening period. Connor Gregga scored from the slot on a feed from the left wing, powering the puck past Haider as he drove to the net for the opening goal. Gregga’s 4th goal of the season was assisted by Ryan Sullivan and Logan Drevitch, and gave the Ghost Pirates a 1-0 lead heading into the first intermission, despite being outshot 13-8 by the Gladiators.
The Gladiators had an abbreviated 5 on 3 power play in the early stages of the second period but were unable to cash in on it. Momentum swung in the Ghost Pirates favor as Savannah started to use the transition game and their speed to their advantage. It ended up being a scoreless period thanks to timely saves from Haider, with the Ghost Pirates outshooting the Gladiators 15-7 in the second period.
Just 55 seconds into the third, the Gladiators had a golden opportunity to tie the game with a penalty shot awarded to Cody Sylvester. Sylvester did not score on the attempt, and Savannah held its 1-0 lead. The path to a comeback became a bit tougher with 8:04 left in the third, as Matt Koopman scored off a faceoff win from Liam Walsh to make it 2-0. The Gladiators pulled Haider for the extra attacker with a little over three minutes left in an attempt to get on the board, but Christophe Tellier buried an empty netter from his own blue line to make it a 3-0 score and foil the Gladiators plans of making a comeback.
Noah Giesbrecht stopped 26/26 for the Ghost Pirates in his first professional shutout. Haider was excellent for the Gladiators and gave them a chance to win stopping 33/35 in the loss. Atlanta went 0/2 on the power play and 2/2 on the penalty kill.
These two teams will meet again on Tuesday night in a rematch of the Battle of Georgia at Gas South Arena at 7:00 PM. Get your tickets HERE and join the battle today!
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