A three-and-three and more: the upcoming homestand for the Atlanta Gladiators includes the highly anticipated Hockey Heritage Weekend as they chance home-ice for the 1st round of the playoffs
- 5 days ago
- 3 min read
One of the goals of the Atlanta Gladiators for this season (2025-26) is to return to the postseason. This goal is accomplished as the team is assured in playing for the Kelly Cup (the top 4 teams in each division make the playoffs/16 total teams make the playoffs) for the first time since the 2021-22 season.
Atlanta has 11 games left in the regular season (they have played 61 of their 72 regular season games thus far) and are currently in 3rd place in the ECHL South (as they have 81 points). The team is just 2 points behind the 2nd place South Carolina Stingrays (83 points) and with 1 more game left to play (as South Carolina has 10 more regular season games left), the Gladiators have a reasonable chance of moving into 2nd place and having home ice advantage for the 1st round of the playoffs.
This week, the team has a three-and-three (3 games in 3 consecutive days) at home (the Gas South District) against fellow ECHL South teams, which usually provides an additional edge and attitude when the games are within the division. They'll welcome the Orlando Solar Bears (7th place in the ECHL South/53 points/9 points behind of the 4th place Savannah Ghost Pirates for the last playoff spot in the division) for back-to-back games on March 26th and 27th (7:10pm EST puck drop) and then take on the Jacksonville Ice Men (5th place in the ECHL South/58 points/4 points out of 4th place) on March 28th (7:10pm EST puck drop).
As an added feature, the last 2 games of the three-and-three are part of Hockey Heritage Weekend. On Friday evening, the Glads will break out the Atlanta Knights jerseys and on Saturday, the Atlanta Thrashers jerseys, as the highly popular season is one that fans have circled on their calendars (as these games typically sell out).
Along with the added energy is the focus the team has, especially after reaching one of their goals. Speaking of goals, the Gladiators are scoring close to 3 goals per game (2.90 goals scored average) as the efforts of leading scorers Alex Young (24 goals/30 assists/54 points/+9 rating), Chad Nychuk (8 goals/41 assists/49 points/+15 rating), and Jack O'Brien (22 goals/20 assists/42 points/+5 rating) set the tone for the team's offense.
On defense, Atlanta's 2.48 goals allowed per game has them sitting in the top-5 in the league. The goaltending efforts of Ethan Haider (20-10-1-1 with one shutout/2.43 goals allowed average/.924 save percentage) and T.J. Semptimphelter (19-9-1-1/1 shutout/2.16 goals allowed average/.922 save percentage) along with the larger team commitment to playing defense at a high level are essential in their overall success.
We recently caught up with Head Coach Matt Ginn as they prepare for their upcoming games. During the time with the media, he speaks to the team's immediate goals and focus going into the upcoming games and their push for playoff positioning (you may watch the full remarks below):
In recognition of National Athletic Training Month, we get a chance to speak with Head Trainer Nick Nelson as he shares his professional journey along with insight on the day-to-day helping the team be at their best (watch the full interview below as there's a striking resemblance to a well-known actor):
This weekend sets yet another stage for the Gladiators to take command of, including the celebration of hockey in Atlanta to their larger goals regarding the postseason and beyond. Combined with the potential for improved playoff positioning, even as the regular season winds down, there's plenty to play for.
Notes: You may watch our 2025-26 coverage (which includes in-game snapshots and interviews) by visiting our playlist. Likewise, you may take a look at our season coverage for related previews and recaps (click HERE).
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