DULUTH, Ga – Josh Atkinson beat the buzzer with four seconds remaining in regulation to get the Greenville Swamp Rabbits on the board, but Louis Boudon’s hat trick, including two power play goals, powered the Atlanta Gladiators to a 3-1 win. The regulation loss is the first suffered by the Swamp Rabbits since December 7th at South Carolina, ending a four-game point streak.
For a second straight game, both teams skated to a scoreless draw after 20 minutes. Pierce Charleson stopped a staggering 11 shots for the Swamp Rabbits, while TJ Semptimphelter stopped the only two thrown towards the Atlanta net.
Eventually, special teams caught up to the Swamp Rabbits, who went to the penalty kill seven times tonight. After Cody Sylvester had a power play goal waved off due to a kick into the net, Louis Boudon scored one that was sure to count, his first of three on the game. At 8:58 of the second, Alex Young won a faceoff to Chad Nychuk, who found Boudon down low to the right. Boudon fired a shot off the net-front defender and past Charleson, giving the Gladiators a 1-0 lead. Semptimphelter stopped a dozen shots in the second for 14 total saves heading into the third.
Boudon was at it again early in the third on the sixth Gladiators power play. Just 2:30 in, Boudon picked up the puck from the left slot and rifled a shot just barely inside the far post, doubling the Gladiators lead to 2-0 (Cody Sylvester and Chad Nychuk assisted). After Semptimphelter made a save in the final half of the period, he sprung Sylvester and Boudon on a break up the ice. Sylvester deferred to the slot, and Boudon got just enough of it to poke it through Charleson, securing his hat trick and a 3-0 Gladiators advantage with 6:26 remaining. After Ryan Conroy sucker punched Tim Lovell and was ejected from the game, the Swamp Rabbits got a late power play and broke Semptimphelter’s shutout. With four seconds left in the game, Parker Berge collected a Cam Hausinger pass, and after receiving back from Josh Atkinson, fired a shot from inside the point. It deflected off of a defender and came to Atkinson, who pocketed the puck to bring the game to its final score of 3-1.
Pierce Charleson suffered his first regulation loss since November 22nd, staving off 23 of 26 shots (4-3-2-0). He earned points for the Swamp Rabbits in four consecutive starts going back to a December 6th win at South Carolina.
The Swamp Rabbits return from the holiday break for a five-game homestand, beginning with the “Valero Winter Wonderland” on December 26th, 27th, and 28th. Puck drop for the 26th against Atlanta at Bon Secours Wellness Arena is slated for 7:05 p.m. EST.