South Carolina Pulls Away in Third Period to Beat Atlanta Gladiators

The South Carolina Stingrays defeated the Atlanta Gladiators 4–1 on Friday night at North Charleston Coliseum, closing out Atlanta’s four game road trip with a loss.

Atlanta entered the matchup looking to finish the trip on a strong note while welcoming forward Max Grondin, who made his professional debut. T.J. Semptimphelter got the start in net for the Gladiators, while Seth Eisele started between the pipes for South Carolina.

The Gladiators controlled much of the opening period, applying pressure early and spending significant time in the Stingrays’ zone. Atlanta’s physical presence also showed up early when Dylan Carabia dropped the gloves with Ben Hawerchuk at the 7:54 mark.

Atlanta’s strong start translated to the scoreboard late in the period. With 8:25 remaining in the first, Joy Cipollone scored his 14th goal of the season off assists from Ryan Francis and Grondin to give the Gladiators a 1–0 lead. The assist marked Grondin’s first professional point in his debut.

Atlanta outshot South Carolina 14–5 in the opening frame and carried the one goal advantage into the first intermission.

The Gladiators opened the second period with similar energy but were unable to extend their lead. Physical play continued early when Ethan Scardina fought Stan Cooley in the opening moments of the period.

South Carolina faced an unexpected change in goal when Eisele left the game with an apparent injury at the 5:43 mark of the second period. Backup goaltender Ty Taylor entered in relief.

The Stingrays took advantage of their first power play opportunity of the night late in the period. With 3:35 remaining, Josh Wilkins redirected a pass from Kyler Kupka to tie the game 1–1.

Shots in the second period were even at 9–9, though Atlanta still held a 23–14 advantage through two periods.

The game quickly shifted in the third period.

Just 19 seconds after the puck dropped, South Carolina won the faceoff and pushed the puck deep into the zone before centering it between the circles for Dean Loukus, who buried the go ahead goal to give the Stingrays a 2–1 lead.

South Carolina continued to build momentum when Kupka added a power play goal 2:36 into the period, extending the lead to 3–1.

Atlanta had multiple opportunities to respond with five power play chances in the game but could not capitalize. Jordan Klimek sealed the result with an empty net goal with 24 seconds remaining to secure the 4–1 win for South Carolina.

Semptimphelter finished with 17 saves on 20 shots in the loss. Taylor stopped all 14 shots he faced in relief to earn the win, while Eisele made 19 saves on 20 shots before exiting with the injury.

Atlanta finished the night 0 for 5 on the power play and 1 for 2 on the penalty kill.

The Gladiators return home Wednesday morning to begin a four game homestand with their final Education Day Game of the season against the Florida Everblades.