GREENSBORO, NC – The Greensboro Gargoyles lost a special teams battle against the Atlanta Gladiators on Tuesday night, falling 6-3 at the First Horizon Coliseum.
Atlanta opened the scoring, advancing a two goal lead in the first period scoring on the power play at 8:42 and again at 16:51. The Gargoyles responded quickly as Logan Nelson sprung a breakaway, hitting Tyler Weiss for his team-leading 11th goal of the season at 17:21.
Atlanta would score another power play goal 45 seconds into the second period before the Gargoyles answered back again 2:08 later. Zach Faremouth scored his second goal in consecutive games assisted by Greg Smith and Arty Borshyov. Atlanta extended their lead back to a pair, making it 4-2 at 6:20 in the second. The Gargoyles would capitalize on their third power play chance of the night as Noah Delmas and Blake Biondi set up Deni Goure for his second point of the night. The Gladiators stunned the end of the period, scoring again on the power play with 0.5 seconds remaining on the clock.
Atlanta finished an empty net goal with 1:57 remaining in regulation to cap off the 6-3 final. Greensboro finished 1-for-4 on the power play, and were only 1-for-4 on the penalty kill. Nikita Quapp saved 17 of 22 shots against.
“In all honesty, I thought we played a pretty good hockey game,” said Head Coach Scott Burt. “It’s just one of those ones that we make a mistake and it turns into an explosion. Our power play gets one tonight then our penalty kill, which has been great all year, gives up three… The guys are getting frustrated, but we have to continue to stay positive.”
The Gargoyles have one day to prepare for a three game set against the Reading Royals on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, February 5-7. Thursday night, the Gargoyles celebrate Gate City on 336 Night, with $3 popcorn, $3 nachos, and $6 domestic draft beers. Then, the Gargoyles hit the beach for Margaritaville Weekend on Friday and Saturday, reminding fans it’s always 5-O’Clock Somewhere. Tickets and more information are available at gargoyleshockey.com.
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