Return of the Glads: the Atlanta Gladiators open their 5-game homestand on #GladsFightCancer night with a 4-2 win over the Greenville Swamp Rabbits

Preview: Greenville Swamp Rabbits (7-6-0-0/14 points/5th place in the ECHL South Division) vs the Atlanta Gladiators (8-3-0-0/16 points/3rd place in the ECHL South Division)

Thanks to a fast start (winning 8 of their first 11 games), the Atlanta Gladiators return home to the Gas South District with a 5-game homestand over the next 8 days. Tonight's game (November 22, 2025 at 7:10pm EST) sees the team on #GladsFightCancer night (as the jerseys have the names of those who fought and still fight against this public health issue) against a familiar division rival, the Greenville Swamp Rabbits.

Greenville comes in with a modest 2-game winning streak as a win against Atlanta could put them in the upper half of the division. The team's offense is led by Carter Savoie (4 goals/4 assists/8 points) as they are scoring 2.54 goals per game. They'll face a Gladiators defense which is among the best in the league, as they've allowed 18 goals in 11 games (1.64 goals per game).

Atlanta looks to push the Greenville defense (allowing a solid 2.46 goals per game) as Alex Young (5 goals/5 assist/10 points) and Chad Nychuk (2 goals/8 assists/10 points) lead the scoring charge.

While early in the season, it's yet another pivotal stretch for the team as they inch closer to the first 1/3 of the regular season (as all teams play 72 regular season games).

Recap: Atlanta's 2-goal runs in the 2nd and 3rd period result in a win to open their homestand.

The Swamp Rabbits would take a 1-0 lead in the 1st period (17:33 mark) as Cam Hausinger's 5th goal of the season finds its way past Glads' goalie Ethan Haider (who enters play with a 4-1 record, a 2.17 goals allowed average, and a stellar .932 save percentage) shortly after Atlanta has a successful power play kill.

Once the 2nd period begins, the Gladiators get things going.

At the 9:12 mark, Mike McNamee's 1st goal of the season (assisted by team captain Cody Sylvester) ties the game. In less than 50 seconds later (10:01 mark of the 2nd period), Joey Cipollone finds the net for his 4th goal of the season (assisted by Cody Sylvester and Anthony Firriolo) to give them a 2-1 lead against Greenville (and goaltender Pierce Charleston, who enters play with a 2-1 record, a 2.90 goals allowed average, and an .883 save percentage).

The Swamp Rabbits would get back in the game at the 14:38 mark of the 2nd period thanks to Tim Rego's 1st goal of the season (assisted by Tristian DeJong).

With the game tied going into the 3rd period, Atlanta regains the lead as Ryan Nolan scores his 3rd goal of the season (assisted by Mike McNamee and Alex Young at the 3:04 mark of the 3rd period), making it a 3-2 game.

The Gladiators would waste little time in adding to their lead; Joey Cipollone would score his 5th goal of the season (and 2nd of the game) at the 5:40 mark of the period to give them a 4-2 lead (assisted by Alex Young).

Despite some physical play between the rivals along with the Swamp Rabbits pulling their goaltender for an extra-man advantage inside the last 1:25 of the game, the Glads thwart their effort to close the gap, as they open their homestand with a win.

Post-game: Timely offense and solid defense by the Glads result in the win as they improve to 9-3-0-0 on the season.

In addition to their penalty killing efforts (2 for 2), the Gladiators outshoot the Swamp Rabbits by a 32-25 margin, as their defense helps set up their offense. Combined with the goaltending of Ethan Haider (23 saves on 25 shots), the team is able to feed off the home crowd en route to the win.

Glads' captain Cody Sylvester (one of the players of the game) joins us for post-game; he not only shares his thoughts on the team's performance and getting in rhythm defensively, but what the #GladsFightCancer means to him (you may watch the full interview below):

Likewise, Joey Cipollone joins us as his 2-goal effort is key to the team's success in this game; he not only shares his insight, but the importance of the #GladsFightCancer given his life experiences (you may watch the full interview below):

With a solid start to the homestand, the Glads look to keep things going for

Notes: All photos and video are recorded by asnortonccs; to catch our 2025-26 season playlist (complete with game snapshots and interviews), you may watch/share/subscribe here.

The Glads' return to home ice on November 23, 2025 at 3:10pm against the South Carolina Stingrays (another ECHL South Division foe).