A solid schooling on School Day: the Glads open their 4 game homestand with a win over the Florida Everblades
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Preview: Florida Everblades (37-11-6-2/82 points/1st place in the ECHL South) vs Atlanta Gladiators (35-16-2-1/73 points/3rd place in the ECHL South)
With less than 20 games left in the regular season (the ECHL regular season is 72 games), games and wins are at a premium.
Coming into today's 2nd School Day game of the year (March 11, 2026 at 10:30am EST at the Gas South District), as the Florida Everblades and Atlanta Gladiators renew their ECHL South Division rivalry with the first of 2 games (as they'll play each other on March 12th at 7:10pm EST back at the Gas South District). While both teams have a strong likelihood of finishing in the top 4 in the division (as they top 4 teams in each division make the playoffs), they are coming in with different goals in mind.
The Everblades come into today's game with 11 wins in their last 13 games (11-0-1-1). Their spurt provides them separation from the rest of the teams in the division, as they have a 7 point lead of the 2nd place South Carolina Stingrays and a 9 point lead over the 3rd place Gladiators. Their offense is averaging 3.25 goals per game as Anthony Romano (20 goals/30 assists/50 points/+20 rating) and Craig Needham (20 goals/18 assists/38 points/+13 rating) are their leading scorers. Defensively, they've elevated their play, as they allow 2.02 goals per game as the league's top scoring defense as Cam Johnson is starting at goaltender for the game (22-7-5-2/3 shutouts/1.85 goals allowed average/.921 save percentage).
The Gladiators are having a solid season, but come in looking to snap a 2 game losing streak (they are 4-4-1-1 in their last 10 games). A win today puts them in a tie for 2nd place with the Stingrays and closer to securing home ice advantage in the 1st round of the playoffs. The efforts of Alex Young (23 goals/26 assists/49 points/+10 rating) and Chad Nychuk (6 goals/40 assists/46 points/+24 rating) set the tone for the offense as they are scoring nearly 3 goals per game (they are averaging 2.98 goals per game). In allowing a solid 2.44 goals per game, Atlanta is in the top 3 leaguewide in scoring defense as Ethan Haider is "between the pipes" for today's game (18-9-1-0/1 shutout/2.44 goals allowed average/.924 save percentage).
As noted earlier, wins at this time of the year are at a premium, especially when division rivals lock horns.
Recap: The Glads' fast start leads to a win over the 1st place Everblades.
The Atlanta Gladiators get off to a fast start as they get in the scoring column first (8:00 in the 1st period). ECHL All-Star forward Jack O'Brien scores his 20th goal of the season (assisted by Mickey Burns and Isak Walther) to take an early lead.
The Florida Everblades would get back in the game with a goal of their own (14:40 in the 1st period) on Issac Nurse's 5th goal of the season (assisted by Ross MacDougal and Kyle Penney).
The Glads would retake the lead in the 2nd period (11:22 in the 2nd period) on Isak Walther's 20th goal of the season (assisted by team captain Cody Sylvester) to give them a 2-1 advantage.
Going into the 3rd period, Atlanta would continue to apply pressure on the Florida defense. At the 6:39 mark of the period, Chad Nychuk scores on the Glads' power play for his 7th goal of the season (assisted by Isak Walther and Alex Young), as the Glads make it a 3-1 game.
The Glads extend the lead to 4-1 at the 16:56 mark of the 3rd period on an empty net goal (unassisted) scored by Jack O'Brien (his 21st of the season and second of the game), ensuring a win to start off the homestand.
Post-game: The Glads get back to their winning formula and are now tied for 2nd place in the ECHL South Division.
Even though the Atlanta Gladiators are outshot by a 27-23 margin, their fast start to the game and team defense are integral to their win.
The Glads' defense holds the Everblades scoreless on the power play (0 for 4) while converting 1 of their 3 power play opportunities. The 2 goal effort by Jack O'Brien leads the way for the Atlanta offense, but the solid goaltending by Ethan Haider (26 saves on 27 shots) and the defense result in the team victory.
During post-game, Isak Walther, Coach Matt Ginn, Ethan Haider, and Jack O'Brien speak with us. All note the team's fast start and sticking to their principles as keys to victory (and the energy of the crowd of slightly more than 8,000 helps). You may watch all their full remarks below:
Notes: You may catch our 2025-26 season coverage by visiting our playlist (click HERE). The Gladiators and Everblades resume play on March 12, 2026 at 7:10pm EST (Gas South District) for the 2nd game of the team's 4 game homestand.
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