The Atlanta Gladiators played against the Trois-Rivières Lions at Colisée Vidéotron in Trois-Rivières, Quebec on Friday night. After beating Jacksonville last weekend, the Gladiators, who need to earn points in the standings, went into the game determined to maintain their momentum.
Here’s a quick rundown of the Atlanta Gladiator’s starting lineup: Cody Sylvester, Jackson Pierson, and Ryan Cranford, with Brad Barone as the goalkeeper for Atlanta. The Gladiators have recently shared some news regarding their All-Star forward Mitch Fossier. Fossier has signed a professional try-out agreement with the San Jose Barracuda of the American Hockey League. The team made this announcement on Friday afternoon. Meanwhile, Tyler Harmon remains on Injured Reserve, and Jay Powell has returned from being on reserve but was not among the lineup. In the net for Trois-Rivières is Rylan Parenteau.
Period 1
The Atlanta Gladiators would get their shot on net right off the bat as Jackson Pierson, just 24 seconds into the opening, shoots the puck past Lions’ goaltender Rylan Parenteau. Cody Sylvester and Griffin Luce will get the credit for the assist. Atlanta is up 1-0 (0:24). The Gladiators head to the PK for a penalty on Griffin Luce for tripping, earning a 2:00 stint in the sin bin. The Lions would take advantage as Justin Ducharme puts Trois-Rivières Lions on the board, tying up the score 1-1 (8:04).
It would be Zach Yoder who gets the takeaway and brings the Gladiators back in front with an unassisted goal at 11:51, taking the score 2-1 in favor of Atlanta. The Lions would make some pushes on Atlanta’s net, putting Barone on high alert. Despite Barone’s strong efforts up front, Cedric Montminy for the Lions would slip the puck past him (13:21), and we would again be even scored at 2-2.
After the initial 20 minutes of play, both the Gladiators and the Lions left the ice tied at two goals each.
Period 1 – Shots on Goal:
Atlanta – 9
Florida – 13
Period 2
The beginning of the frame sees Brad Barone continuing to fight to keep the net clear as the Gladiators make every effort to get the lead back once more. Ortiz keeps making a shot and is stopped by Barone, and Justin Ducharme tries the rebound, but that, too, is denied by Atlanta.
At 10:50 into the frame, that chance would come off the faceoff. Vitelli pushes the puck wide of the net, and it is Micha Miller, with the assistance of Reece Vitelli and Luke Prokop. The Gladiators again take the lead 3-2. Griffin Luce makes another chance at the net, but Parenteau gets the stop for the Lions.
The Gladiators would go on to the PK after Brendan Hoffman gets the penalty for slashing (11:24) after a stellar denial by Brad Barone. Once again, Trois-Rivières attempts to take the opportunity to score, but this time, the Gladiators successfully get the kill. They have to immediately defend once back to full strength, and though Barone tried to get the puck away, the Lions got the puck past him to tie the game 3 -3, with Nolan Yaremko getting the goal for Trois-Rivières.
Period 2 – Shots on Goal:
Atlanta – 9
Trois-Rivières – 11
Period 3
In the concluding period of the hockey game, both teams were leveled at three and battled fiercely to establish dominance and clinch the win, resulting in significant action on the ice throughout the frame.
Late in the period, after both teams make strikes in each other’s zone, there would be three back-to-back penalties on Trois-Rivières. The first coming on Nicolas Lariviere for Cross Checking. Moments later, Parenteau gets on for Delay of Game for clearing the puck into the crowd. Then, crazy enough, Brycen Martin gets another penalty for the Trois-Rivières Lions for high sticking on Cody Sylvester. The Gladiators are now playing 5-on-3, but the Lions kept the Gladiators on the chase. Parenteau keeps the Gladiators out of the net after all three penalties on the Lions wind down.
The Atlanta Gladiators were deep into the final frame before they found Jackson Pierson, and he did not disappoint. Pierson made a strong play on the net and got it past Parenteau, bringing the Gladiators to a 4-3 score (15:06). Gladiators’ Luke Propkop provided the assist on the goal.
The Lions tied the game again when Miguel Tourigny scored a power-play goal after Ryan Cranford was penalized for interference (18:30). The score was now 4-4. As the clock ticked down with less than a minute left, the Gladiators put pressure on the Lions’ net. Micha Miller scored his second goal of the night, with Jacob Graves and Dylan Carabia assisting, sealing the game-winning goal for the Gladiators (19:20).
The Gladiators beat the Lions with a final score of 5-4 in regulation.
Period 3 – Shots on Goal:
Atlanta – 11
Trois-Rivières – 10
Three Stars:
- ATL – M. Miller
- TR – A. Yoyer
- ATL – J. Pierson
Takeaways:
- The Gladiators had a 5-on-3 PP chance that they were unable to convert, largely at the hands of the Lions netminder.
- The Atlanta Gladiators only had one successful PK in the game as the Trois-Rivières Lions scored two out of three times when given the man advantage. The Gladiators were ranked18th coming into this first game against the Lions.
The Atlanta Gladiators will see the Trois-Rivières Lions again Saturday afternoon for a 3 PM EST puck drop. The Gladiators will return to their home ice on Sunday, January 7th, as they face off that evening against the Jacksonville Icemen at Gas South Arena at 7:30 PM.
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