Ghost Pirates Blank Gladiators 3-0 as Giesbrecht Earns First Pro Shutout

The Savannah Ghost Pirates defeated the Atlanta Gladiators 3-0 on Sunday afternoon at Enmarket Arena, with rookie goaltender Noah Giesbrecht turning aside all 26 shots he faced to earn the first professional shutout of his career.

The result capped a tough three-in-three weekend road trip for Atlanta, who had been looking to extend their points streak to four straight games after an overtime loss in South Carolina on Saturday night. Ethan Haider made his third consecutive start in net for the Gladiators, while Savannah went with Giesbrecht in his own cage.

Atlanta came out of the gate with the better of the play, generating early chances and outshooting the Ghost Pirates 13-8 through the first period, but it was Savannah who drew first blood. With 3:39 remaining in the opening frame, Connor Gregga drove hard to the net from the slot and powered a feed past Haider for his fourth goal of the season, assisted by Ryan Sullivan and Logan Drevitch. The Ghost Pirates headed to the first intermission with a 1-0 lead despite being outshot by a comfortable margin.

Atlanta had a chance to even things up early in the second period with an abbreviated 5-on-3 power play, but couldn’t convert. From there, Savannah seized the momentum, leaning on their speed and transition game to flip the territorial advantage and outshoot the Gladiators 15-7 in the period. Haider stood tall throughout to keep it a one-goal game heading to the third.

The Gladiators’ best chance to get back in it came just 55 seconds into the final period, when Cody Sylvester was awarded a penalty shot. Giesbrecht turned it away, and Savannah held firm. With 8:04 remaining, Matt Koopman buried a faceoff-play goal off a feed from Liam Walsh to make it 2-0. The Gladiators pulled Haider for the extra attacker in the final minutes, but Christophe Tellier sealed it with an empty-netter from his own blue line to make it 3-0 and end any hopes of a Gladiators comeback.

Giesbrecht was perfect on the night, stopping all 26 shots he faced for his first professional shutout. Haider was excellent despite the loss, finishing with 33 saves on 35 shots. Atlanta went 0-for-2 on the power play and 2-for-2 on the penalty kill.

These two teams will meet again Tuesday night in a rematch of the Battle of Georgia at Gas South Arena at 7:00 PM.

Watch the highlights HERE.