Estero, FL – The Florida Everblades defeated the Atlanta Gladiators 5-0 at Hertz Arena on Friday night. Florida netminder Cam Johnson pitched a 17 save shutout, his first of the season and the 21^st of his ECHL career.

The Gladiators opened an eight game road trip – their longest of the season - in South Florida on Friday night taking on the defending champion Florida Everblades. Atlanta went 5-2 against Florida last season and was the only team Florida had a losing record against.

Ethan Haider started in net for the Gladiators, marking his 77^th appearance in net for Atlanta, passing Sean Fields for the 3^rd most in franchise history. Cam Johnson, the reigning playoff MVP and goaltender of the year, got the nod in goal for the Everblades.

From the opening faceoff, Florida dominated possession. Much of the first period was spent in the Gladiators zone, with Haider weathering the storm as Atlanta couldn’t get anything going offensively. Costly turnovers hurt the Gladiators, as the opening goal of the night came on a turnover from the corner to the slot, with Cole Moberg scoring his first of the season with 6:44 left in the opening period. Then about a minute later, the Everblades made it 2-0, with Devon Paliani scoring off a wrap-around chance from Maleek McGowan that initially got stopped by Haider. Paliani was able to score on the loose puck in the slot with 5:33 left on the clock. Florida extended its lead with a power play goal with 50 seconds left in the period, as Mark Senden surged into a breakaway and scored to make it 3-0.

The Everblades continued to shut down the Gladiators attack and buried another goal to make it a 4-0 hockey game 7:57 into the second period. Jack Horbach scored off of a pass from behind the net to the slot for the first goal of his pro career. Maleek McGowan factored in with the assist. The goal was reviewed but was later ruled a good goal. Late in the second period Connor Caponi fought Maleek McGowan. Florida led 4-0 after two periods and led the shot count 22-13. 

Florida’s Maleek McGowan added a goal of his own to make it 5-0, scoring from his backside from Tyler Duke and Ryan Mast 9:26 into the third period. The Gladiators went 0/4 on the power play in an attempt to break Johnson’s shutout but were unsuccessful. Atlanta went 3/4 on the penalty kill in the loss as Haider stopped 29/34 shots faced. The loss dropped the Gladiators record to 1-3, while Florida moved to a perfect 3-0.

The Gladiators will look to rebound on Saturday night in a  rematch against the Everblades at 7:00 PM. Fans can watch the action live on FloHockey at flohockey.tv, or listen in on the Gladiators YouTube channel.