North Charleston, SC – The Atlanta Gladiators defeated the South Carolina Stingrays 4-2 on Friday night at North Charleston Coliseum. The Gladiators overcame a 2-0 deficit, scoring four straight goals to complete their 3^rd multi-goal comeback of the season. Forward Alex Young factored in on every single Gladiators goal, recording his first career four-point game with 2 goals and 2 assists.

The Gladiators opened a three-game road trip at North Charleston Coliseum, meeting the Stingrays for the first time in about a month. Ethan Haider started in net for the Gladiators, while Seth Eisele started in goal for the Stingrays. Gladiators forward Nick McCarry made his professional debut for Atlanta.

It was a rocky start for Atlanta, as the Gladiators fell behind early with Stingrays defenseman Romain Rodzinski scoring 3:42 into the contest. Rodzinski floated a shot from the left point by Haider for the opening score off of a faceoff win from Patrick Guzzo. South Carolina added to its lead with a late first period goal with 6:25 on the clock from Ludwig Persson. The puck pinballed to the slot to Persson who ripped it past Haider to put the Stingrays up 2-0. The Gladiators did kill a late penalty to gain some momentum but after one period of play, South Carolina led 2-0 and the shot count 13-4.

The ice turned into a warzone in the second period, featuring three fights and a total of 57 penalty minutes combined – 22 for Atlanta and 35 for South Carolina. The Gladiators found a way to make it work in their favor and knock the Stingrays off their game. Off of a 4 on 4 after a fight from Ethan Scardina and Dean Loukus, the Gladiators scored off the rush with Ryan Francis scoring from Alex Young and Ryan Conroy 5:30 into the second to make it 2-1. Then after a fight from Ryley Appelt and Simon Pinard, the Gladiators scored a shorthanded goal to make it 2-2. Carson Denomie created a turnover and found Young for the score with 5:38 left in the period. The fireworks did not end there, as in the final minute of the period, Ryan Conroy fought Bryan Moore and chaos ensued. Moore and Ben Hawerchuk both ended up with match penalties, with Conroy getting a minor. Out of all of it, the Gladiators had a three minute 5 on 3 power play after the opening minute of the third. After two periods, the game was tied 2-2 with the Stingrays outshooting the Gladiators 23-13.

Atlanta cashed in on the extended power play with the eventual game winner 3:27 into the third period, as Cody Sylvester slammed in his 14^th goal of the season from Chad Nychuk and Alex Young to make it 3-2 Atlanta. With the score, Sylvester extended his goal scoring streak to three games with 4 goals in that span. The Gladiators were able to fend off the Stingrays and bury an empty netter from Alex Young with 1:31 to go to make it a 4-2 final and complete the comeback. Haider stopped 30/32 in the win for the Gladiators as Atlanta went 1/5 on the power play and 3/3 on the penalty kill. This game featured a new season high in PIMS for and against the Gladiators. Alex Young factored in on every Gladiators goal with 2 goals and 2 assists for his first career four-point game.

The rematch is set for Saturday night at North Charleston Coliseum as the Stingrays host the Gladiators for the second game of the three-game road trip. Puck drop is set for 6:05 PM EST, with coverage on the Gladiators Broadcast Network on FloHockey and YouTube beginning at 5:45 PM EST.