By Mike Bonts
JACKSONVILLE – The Atlanta Gladiators (21-11-2) scored three goals in the first period and hung on for a 5-3 win over the Jacksonville Icemen (20-12-1) Friday night at Veterans Memorial Arena.
The Gladiators got goals from Kaid Oliver (7), Reece Vitelli (7) and Zach Yoder (2) for a 3-0 first period advantage.
Jacksonville head coach Nick Lukko pulled starter Parker Gahagen and replaced him with Olof Lindbom in the net after the opening period.
Tyler Parks made 36 saves in the win. Mike Pelech (7) and Tyler Kobryn (4) insured the victory with second period scores.
Zach Jordan (10), Derek Lodermeier (10) and Easton Brodzinski (3) scored for Jacksonville. The Icemen outshot the visitors 39-30.
Jacksonville was 0 for 5 on the power play. Atlanta was 0 for 3. The loss snapped a two-game winning streak.
The clubs begin a two-game series tonight in Atlanta.
(SportsDay photo by Nancy Beecher/FL Sports Wire)
EVERBLADES FALL TO SWAMP RABBITS, 3-2 IN SHOOTOUT
The Florida Everblades scored late in the third period but can’t close in a shootout, dropping a 3-2 loss to the Greenville Swamp Rabbits Friday night at Bon Secours Wellness Arena.
Florida opened the second period with an unassisted shorthanded goal scored by forward Joe Pendenza, making that his ninth tally of the season.
Greenville got on the score sheet with a quick tally in the opening three minutes of the third period that tied the game 1-1. Anthony Beauchamp put the Swamp Rabbits up by one with a power play goal at 14:45 in the third period. Jake Smith tallied his 13th goal of the season, tying the game at two with less than two minutes left in the third period.
Neither team could find the back of the net in overtime, sending the game to a shootout. Blake Winiecki, Jake Smith and Brad Morrison were shut out by Greenville goalie Ryan Bednard. Alex Ierullo was the only shooter successful in tonight’s shootout giving Greenville the win in the third round.
JONNY EVANS NETS OVERTIME WINNER OVER SAVANNAH
Jonny Evans netted the game-winner in overtime to lift the South Carolina Stingrays (21-5-3-1) over the Savannah Ghost Pirates (11-18-6-0) by a final score of 4-3 on Friday night at the North Charleston Coliseum. Friday’s contest was only two periods, completing the suspended game from December 17th.
The game began scoreless in the second period with Tyler Wall stopping a flurry of shots before Josh Wilkins’ 10th goal of the season took the winds out of the Savannah sails. Wilkins banked a pass off the Ghost Pirates defenseman on the power play that deflected past Jordan Papirny for the 1-0 lead 6:35 into the middle frame.
Bear Hughes doubled the lead just over four minutes later with his 15th marker of the year. The Stingrays cycled the puck below the end line where Evans fed Hughes in front of the net for the 2-0 lead.
With time winding down in the second period, Anthony Del Gaizo expanded the Stingrays’ lead to three goals with his sixth tally of the season. Del Gaizo fired a shot between the circles that banked off a Savannah defender and slid past Papirny for the 3-0 advantage to finish the middle stanza.
The Ghost Pirates stormed back with three unanswered goals to force overtime beginning with Logan Drevitch’s sixth goal of the year. Drevitch received a pass from TJ Fergus at the left circle and snapped a wrist shot past Wall for the first Savannah goal of the night.
Pat Guay cut the deficit to one goal on the power play with his 9th marker of the season. Guay moved inside the right circle and lifted a shot over Wall for the 3-2 game halfway through the third frame.
In his return to Savannah, Brandon Estes forced overtime on his fifth goal of the season with 4:21 remaining in regulation. Estes tipped a pass from Alex Swetlikoff that knuckled past Wall to tie the game at three goals apiece.
Evans closed out the contest with 1:16 left in overtime on his fourth goal of the season. Wilkins stretched a pass for Evans who went one-on-one with Papirny, snapping a shot past the Savannah netminder for the win.
