Pushback on their playoff push: The Atlanta Gladiators drop a 6-3 decision to one of their division rivals, the South Carolina Stingrays
Preview: South Carolina Stingrays (40-14-3-2/85 points/2nd place in the ECHL Southern Division) vs Atlanta Gladiators (26-26-5-2/59 points/5th place in the ECHL Southern Division)
Games which take place late in the season are meaningful; when they are within the division, there's an added meaning.
Tonight's game at the Gas South District (March 14, 2025 at 7:30pm EST) is meaningful for the visiting South Carolina Stingrays. With 13 games remaining, they are 1 point out of 1st place and possibly earning home-ice advantage in the 1st and 2nd round of the playoffs. Led on offense by Josh Wilkins (19 goals/28 assists/47 points) and Austin Magera (9 goals/35 assists/44 points), they are scoring a robust 3.8 goals per game and expect to challenge the Atlanta Gladiators' defense (allowing 3.3 goals per game) and goaltender Ethan Haider (16-11-0-1 with a 3.16 goals allowed average/.895 save percentage/3 shutouts).
The Atlanta Gladiators have 13 games left in the season as well, but they are facing a challenging path to the playoffs. Sitting in 5th place (the top 4 teams in each division make the postseason) and 13 points out, wins and points are at a premium (however, the Orlando Solar Bears, who currently hold the 4th place slot, only have 11 games left, so the Glads can make up some ground with the extra games). On offense, leading scorers Cody Sylvester (22 goals/17 assists/39 points), Derek Topatigh (9 goals/28 assists/37 points), and Blake Murray (14 goals/23 assists/37 points) look to provide a spark for the offense (scoring 2.6 goals per game) against the Stingrays' defense (allowing a stingy 2.3 goals per game) and their goaltender, Garin Bjorkland (18-4-1-2 with a 1.95 goals allowed average/.928 save percentage/1 shutout).
Recap: An early strike by the Stingrays keeps the Glads on the run and a setback on their playoff push
On Heroes Night (recognition for our public service workers), the Stingrays jump out to an early lead in the 1st period; goals by Romain Rodzinski (his 4th at the 7:11 mark assisted by Justin Nachbar and Ryan Hofer) and Austin Magera (his 10th at the 14:39 mark assisted by Erik Middendorf) give them a 2-0 lead.
The Glads would get back in the game via a shorthanded goal by Carson Denomie (his 5th goal of the year) at the 17:18 mark of the 1st period, making it a 2-1 score going into the 1st intermission.
Early in the 2nd period, the Stingrays would strike, as Justin Nachbaur's 10th goal of the year gives them a 3-1 lead (assisted by Ryan Hofer and Tyler Weiss). They would extend the lead to 4-1 at the 14:47 mark of the 2nd period on Ryan Hofer's 10th goal of the year (assisted by Tyler Weiss and Jayden Lee).
Chippy play early in the 3rd period results in back-to-back physical altercations (multiple fighting penalties at the 4:52 and 4:54 marks of the 3rd period).
Eventually, the Glads would cut the lead to 4-2 at the 15:34 mark of the 3rd period as Carson Denomie's 2nd goal of the game (his 12th of the season assisted by Derek Topatigh) gets them back in the game. They maintain the momentum as team captain Eric Neiley's 13th goal of the season (16:04 assisted by Cody Sylvester and Chad Nychuk) gets the Glads within a goal (4-3) of tying the game.
Inside of 3 minutes left in the game, the Glads' gamble in pulling the goalie for an extra skater does not work as planned, as Romain Rodzinski's empty net goal (his 2nd of the game and 5th of the season/17:50 in the 3rd period) halts their run, making it a 5-3 game. A second empty net goal (19:59 in the 3rd period) by Charlie Combs (his 18th of the season assisted by Josh Wilkins) closes out the scoring and results in a 6-3 loss for the Gladiators.
While the shots on goal are relatively even (South Carolina has a 31-29 edge) and both teams halt each other on the power play (both teams go 0/3), the Stingrays' early run (4-1 lead) put the Gladiators in an uphill battle for most of the game.
The Glads hit the road on March 15th (tomorrow) as they have a rematch with the South Carolina Stingrays.
