DULUTH, Ga. – With an opportunity to clinch a spot in the 2023 Kelly Cup Playoffs with a win in regulation time, the Florida Everblades dropped a 4-0 decision to Atlanta Gladiators Sunday afternoon at Gas South Arena. The Everblades will have an opportunity to lock up a playoff on Hertz Arena ice on Wednesday.
Florida (36-22-4-4, 80 points) still leads Atlanta (34-27-6-1, 75 points) by five points in the race for the fourth and final playoff spot in a tight South Division with six regular-season games left on the schedule. The Everblades end Sunday’s game three points out of first place in the division, pending first-place South Carolina’s result Sunday night in Toledo.
With Atlanta needing a win to keep its slim playoff chances alive, the Gladiators picked up an early goal in the first period and added a late goal in the second frame to take a 2-0 lead. Cody Sylvester found the net just 49 seconds into the contest, while Sanghoon Shin converted on the power play at the 18:56 mark of the middle period.
Sylvester scored twice in the third period to end with a hat trick, scoring a goal at 10:45 and picking up an empty-net tally at 18:05 to close out the game on top 4-0.
The Everblades outshot 37-35. Cam Johnson (25-17-4-3) registered 31 saves in goal for the Everblades, while Atlanta’s Tyler Harmon (4-3-1-0) made 37 saves for the Gladiators, picking up his first shutout of the season.
With Florida Everblades release
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