Saturday night, the Atlanta Gladiators hosted the Savannah Ghost Pirates in a series that had already been heating up the South division. In their recent clash on February 16th, Savannah edged out Atlanta 4-3 in overtime, setting the stage for a rematch where every shift, every power play, and every penalty kill would make the difference.
That game wasn’t just another contest—it was a battle of momentum and precision. The Gladiators, fighting to turn around their season with only 18 games remaining, knew that an early offensive surge could shift the tide. Meanwhile, the Ghost Pirates demonstrated their resilience on the road, turning tight contests into crucial wins, as they had with the OT win against Jacksonville the night before.
This was also Thrashers Night—a nostalgic throwback to the NHL team—with the Atlanta faithful kicking off Heritage Hockey Weekend.
Injury Report
Atlanta injured reserve updates: Eric Neiley (F) was activated from the 14-day injured reserve, Michael Marchesan (F) was activated from the 3-day injured reserve, and Brenden Datema (D) was placed on the 3-day injured reserve.
Starting Line – Savannah Ghost Pirates
Andre Anania, Zach Uens, Reece Vitelli, Josh Davies, Keltie Jeri-Leon, and Keith Kinkaid (Goalie)
Starting Line – Atlanta Thrashers
Jeremy Hanzel, Chad Nychuk, Cody Sylvester, Eric Neiley, Joey Cipollone and Drew Deridder (Goalie)
Period 1
A shot from Topatigh early on nearly found the back of the net, followed by a quick opportunity from Jackson Pierson coming right off the bench. Moments later, at 1:59 of the first period, the Thrashers took a 1–0 lead when Carson Denomie (9) scored, assisted by R. Cranford.
GOAL (1:59, 1st Period): The Thrashers took a 1–0 lead when Carson Denomie (9) capitalized on a feed from Ryan Cranford.
Zach Yoder soon followed with a chance of his own but narrowly missed the mark, while Lovie had a promising look down low only to see his shot sail wide. DeRidder gloved one out of midair after Savannah fired another attempt at the netminder. Moments later, another shot went wide before Atlanta cleared the puck out of the zone. The Thrashers continued to pressure Keith Kinkaid with multiple attempts, but he stood tall to keep them off the board. Josh Davies got a shot on DeRidder, but he pushed it away. Then, Atlanta moved the puck into the zone, only for Savannah to clear it back out.
Dominiks Marcinkevics was intercepted, but Atlanta quickly worked to regain possession. Savannah’s Paliani fired a shot that deflected off DeRidder’s glove and sailed over the net, making Thrashers fans anxious. Savannah’s Logan Drevitch then tried to wrap it around the net, but DeRidder and the Thrashers managed to block the attempt.
A shot by Marcinkevics sailed wide to the left, and later the Ghost Pirates surged toward the Atlanta net, but DeRidder was there to clear the threat. Jeremy Hanzel threw Kyle Jeffers solidly down to the ice, and moments later, Connor Galloway took a shot that went wide of the net after the Thrashers tried to throw Kincaid off balance. Off the faceoff, Atlanta’s Topatigh fired a shot on net, and later, Pat Guay unleashed a powerful attempt that rang off the crossbar behind DeRidder.
An offensive zone faceoff with 3.5 seconds remaining yielded no further opportunities, and the period ended with the Thrashers still leading the Ghost Pirates by one goal.
Stats
Score: Atlanta leads 1–0
Goal (1:59): Carson Denomie (9), assisted by R. Cranford
Shots: Savannah 10, Atlanta 15
Goaltending: Savannah (K. Kinkaid) – 15 shots against, 14 saves, 1 GA; Atlanta (D. DeRidder) – 10 shots against, 10 saves, 0 GA
Penalties: None in the first period
Period 2
A tipped shot by Atlanta nearly found the back of the net following a turnover, and Kincaid then made a strong save on a one-timer by Carabia. Later, a shot from the right side was redirected by Ryan Cranford but it rang off the crossbar, as the Thrashers continued pushing the pace early in the period. The Thrashers get on the board again by capitalizing on a loose puck as Chad Nychuk gets his fourth goal in as many games, with Tyler Drevitch and Michael Marchesan on the assists.
GOAL (3:12, 2nd Period): Atlanta extends its lead to 2–0 as Chad Nychuk (5) scores, assisted by Tyler Drevitch and Michael Marchesan.
Then, at center ice, a brawl broke out between the two teams, resulting in Nychuk being taken down. Zach Uens was assessed a two-minute roughing penalty at 3:12. Despite a lengthy discussion with the officials, the call stood, putting the Thrashers on the power play.
Some back-and-forth action ensued as the Thrashers tried to line up a shot, nearly converting before Kinkaid turned aside the Atlanta attempt. A centering pass by Atlanta was fired on net but ultimately sailed wide. Carson Denomie gained possession, then passed the puck, but Savannah’s Evan Nause snagged it, and Davies ultimately fanned the follow-up shot on that play. DeRidder made a solid chest save on Cesana’s snipe attempt. Atlanta blocked Savannah’s Reece Vitelli from taking a shot on DeRidder moments later. Then, after Atlanta put another shot on net, Savannah showed some feistiness once again.
Savannah attempted to draw Atlanta into a fight, but the Thrashers kept their composure. Blake Murray fired a shot but it clanged off the post. The Thrashers’ Carabia took another shot at Kincaid, but it went wide. Atlanta continues to apply offensive pressure on Kincaid, keeping the Ghost Pirates on their heels. Cranford fired a shot, but Kincaid made the save. Later, two more solid attempts by the Thrashers nearly caught Kincaid off guard, but he managed to stay on the puck. The Ghost Pirates tried another wraparound attempt, but Atlanta was there to block it. A shot by Savannah on DeRidder was quickly smothered by the netminder. Atlanta successfully killed off that penalty, and now there’s less than three and a half minutes remaining in the second period. A pass to Cody Sylvester nearly set up a tip-in, but Atlanta couldn’t quite connect. Again, Savannah tried to draw a penalty from Atlanta after Hanzel’s shot on Kinkaid, getting in the face of Dominiks Marcinkevics but Atlanta kept their composure and ended the period with their 2–0 lead intact.
Stats
Score: Atlanta leads 2–0
Goal (3:12): C. Nychuk (5), assisted by M. Marchesan and T. Drevitch
Shots (Period 2): Savannah 5, Atlanta 13
Shots (Total): Savannah 15, Atlanta 28
Goaltending: Savannah (K. Kinkaid) – 28 shots against, 26 saves, 2 GA; Atlanta (D. DeRidder) – 15 shots against, 15 saves, 0 GA
Penalties: Savannah – Z. Uens (Roughing, 3:12), Atlanta – J. Hanzel (Hooking, 14:15)
Period 3
The Ghost Pirates intercepted a pass immediately after the face-off and fired a shot on net, but DeRidder was ready for Andre Anania’s attempt. Jackson Pierson took a shot, and although the rebound nearly slipped past Kincaid, it was ultimately stopped. The Thrashers continued to defend, and immediately after the play, the Ghost Pirates went after Tyler Drevitch, with Rylan Van Unen confronting him and eventually bringing him down. At 2:52, Van Unen was called for roughing, and at 2:59, Drevitch received a corresponding roughing minor, sending both teams to a 4-on-4 situation. Atlanta’s Nychuk generated several solid attempts on Kincaid’s net, but Savannah’s Cesana eventually cleared the puck. Another shot from the right side of Kincaid’s net sailed wide, and DeRidder blocked another attempt by Savannah’s Anania as the Ghost Pirates tried to generate offense.
Savannah began to build momentum with its puck play, forcing the Thrashers to work hard to stay on top of the action. A shot by Atlanta’s Randy Hernández was gloved down by Kincaid. Savannah then attempted to draw another penalty by getting in Topatigh’s face after Logan Drevitch took exception to a hit, with Dylan Carabia soon joining the fray to defend his teammate. No penalty was called, as officials intervened quickly. At this point, neither team was generating many quality scoring chances, with Savannah recording eight shots compared to Atlanta’s three. Patrick Guay’s attempt was shut down by DeRidder, and later, a shot by Dominiks Marcinkevics that appeared to cross the line was ultimately waved off.
With less than eight minutes remaining, DeRidder made another save on a Savannah shot attempt. Later, Topatigh sent the puck to the far wing for Cranford, but the Ghost Pirates recovered it—only to ice it moments later. Joey Cipollone took a shot from the left side of Kincaid that missed the mark. Shortly after, Savannah fired a shot from the line, but DeRidder easily made the save.
DeRidder fell short on a shot directed at the net as Atlanta worked to maintain solid play. With three minutes remaining, the fans joined in the excitement, clapping for the Thrashers as Neiley fired a shot that was stopped by Kincaid. An odd moment occurred when a stick got caught between the boards and the ice, but Topatigh freed it. Kincaid was pulled from the net. A few shots were fired on DeRidder by Savannah as the clock wound down, but the Thrashers managed to clear the puck.
With just 1:08 remaining, the Thrashers looked poised to close out the game. DeRidder had a tense moment when he dove onto the puck, nearly giving Savannah’s Devon Paliani a rebound opportunity, but Atlanta’s defense held strong. At 19:19, a penalty was called on Atlanta when Topatigh was assessed a two-minute minor for holding, sending the Thrashers to the penalty kill. On a blocked play by Atlanta, the puck was lifted up and over the Savannah Ghost Pirates by Andrew Jarvis, and the puck slid home towards the empty net.
The crowd went wild as the buzzer sounded, sealing a shutout victory for DeRidder and the Thrashers.
GOAL (19:53, 3rd Period, EN/SH): A. Jarvis (5) extends Atlanta’s lead to 3–0 with a short-handed, empty-net goal.
Stats
Score: Atlanta wins 3–0
Goal (19:53): A. Jarvis (5), EN/SH
Shots (Period 3): Savannah 15, Atlanta 10
Shots (Total): Savannah 30, Atlanta 38
Goaltending: Savannah (K. Kinkaid) – 37 shots against, 35 saves, 2 GA; Atlanta (D. DeRidder) – 30 shots against, 30 saves, 0 GA
Penalties: Savannah – R. Van Unen (Roughing, 2:52); Atlanta – T. Drevitch (Roughing, 2:59), D. Topatigh (Holding, 19:19)
Final Game Summary
Atlanta completes the shutout with a 3–0 victory over Savannah. C. Denomie opened the scoring in the first, Chad Nychuk added another in the second, and Andrew Jarvis sealed the win with an empty-net, short-handed goal late in the third. D. DeRidder turned aside all 30 shots for the shutout, while K. Kinkaid stopped 35 of 37 shots before the empty-netter.
Tomorrow at 3 PM, the Thrashers will face the Ghost Pirates in the second game of their back-to-back series.
Discover more from Inside The Rink
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
