DULUTH, GA – The Manchester Monarchs opened up a series in Duluth, Georgia with the Atlanta Gladiators on Tuesday night. Things did not go well for the visiting Monarchs as they fell to the Gladiators by a 3-2 final.
The Gladiators took over the game and started dominating the Monarchs in their own defensive end. The Monarch were hemmed in, forcing Manchester goalie Michael Houser to make some big save early to keep the game tied. The Gladiators finally broke through when Tyler Murovich scored assisted by Justin Buzzeo and Zach Sarig.
Just over a minute later the Gladiators scored again, this time Eric Nelley scored assisted by Derek Nesbitt. The Monarchs struggled to find any offense against Atlanta netminder Andy Iles while the Gladiators continued to dominate. Houser stood on his head for most of the first just trying to keep the Monarchs within striking distance. When the first finally ended, Atlanta led 2-0 and the shots were 15-4 in favor of the Gladiators.
The second period started out much better for the Monarchs who came back on the ice looking much hungrier then the first. Manchester finally broke through when Austin Block converted a Matt MacKenzie pass to score. The secondary assist on the score was given to Yann Sauve.
The Monarchs took that momentum and started to gain more and more offense on Iles. Just over a minute after Block’s tally, the Gladiators stuck again when Buzzeo slipped one past Houser, assisted by Daniel Bahntge and Max Everson. The Monarchs continued to pressure the Gladiators, but couldn’t find the back of the net. The second period ended with the Monarchs trailing the Gladiators 3-1 and the shots 19-13 for the Gladiators.
The Monarchs came back out for the third looking to tie the game and put a terrible first period behind them. The Monarchs came out firing in the final period, but the Gladiators defense stood tall. The Monarchs were limited in where their shots were coming from and Iles keep the Gladiators ahead. The Monarchs started to break through the layers as the period wore on, but Iles was strong in net for the Gladiators.
The Monarch finally broke through again when Tony Turgeon scored assisted by Troy Power. That was all the Monarchs could muster as Iles stayed strong for the Gladiators. The game ended with the Gladiators wining by the score of 3-2 and the final shots 29-24 for the Monarchs.
Third star in the game went to Murovich who started the scoring off for the Gladiators and played a solid game for Atlanta. The second star was awarded to Iles who stopped 27 of 29 Monarchs shots to give the Gladiators the victory. First star went to Buzzeo who had the game winner for the Gladiators and assisted on the game’s first goal.
The Monarchs and the Gladiators will face each other again on Thursday night in Duluth.
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