Stopped by the Swamp Rabbits: the Atlanta Gladiators drop a 3-2 decision and look to snap their 2-game losing streak
- 2 days ago
- 4 min read
Preview: Greenville Swamp Rabbits (25-30-7-1/58 points/6th in the ECHL South) vs Atlanta Gladiators (42-20-3-1/87 points/2nd place in the ECHL South)
Coming into tonight's game (April 3, 2026/7:10pm EST puck drop at the Gas South District), Greenville looks to earn a sweep of the home-and-home series and keep their narrow playoff hopes alive, while Atlanta looks to get back in the win column for the 2nd game of their 3-and-3 and maintain home-ice advantage for the 1st round of the playoffs (click HERE for our preview).
Sitting 8 points behind the Savannah Ghost Pirates for the 4th and final playoff spot in the ECHL South (the top-4 teams in each division/16 teams overall compete in postseason in pursuit of the Kelly Cup, the ECHL Championship), the Swamp Rabbits come into tonight's division and rivalry game with confidence, as they are coming off a 4-0 win at home in last night's contest (April 2, 2026 at Bon Secours Wellness arena). Leading scorers Keaton Mastrodonato (23 goals/22 assists/45 points/-4 rating) and Denis Smirnov (16 goals/22 assists/38 points/+10 rating) lead an offense scoring 2.60 goals per game. Defensively, they'll look to maintain their momentum from the previous win with a defense allowing 2.94 goals per game.
Despite last night's loss, Atlanta has won 5 of their last 6 and maintain a 1 point lead over the South Carolina Stingrays (the team they are likely to play in the playoffs), so getting back in the win column is important for playoff positioning. They still feature the league's 5th best scoring defense (allowing 2.46 goals per game). Offensively, the team is scoring just under 3 goals per game (2.91 goals per game) and are led by Alex Young (26 goals/32 assists/58 points/+9 rating) and Chad Nychuk (8 goals/44 assists/52 points/+16); along with the added efforts of last week's ECHL Player of the Week, Jack O'Brien (27 goals/21 assists/48 points/=9 rating), they'll look to return to their winning ways.
As par for the course for tonight's Golf Night themed game, the Glads look to even the score and pull away from the pack.
Recap: Atlanta drops a tightly contested ECHL South matchup and looks to rebound in their next game.
Greenville's Isaiah Saville, who earns the shutout win in last night's game (9-12-2-1/1 shutout/2.53 goals allowed average/.914 save percentage), matches up against Atlanta's Ethan Haider (22-10-1-0/1 shutout/2.40 goals allowed average/.923 save percentage). As expected, there's some carryover from last night's game as the teams combine for 4 penalties and some "meetups" during the scoreless 1st period.
The 2nd period merely raises the intensity between the 2 teams. After an incredulous barrage of shots by Greenville, one of which hits the post and kicks out, the Swamp Rabbits score the 1st goal of the game at the 13:21 mark on Tim Rego's 4th goal of the season (assisted by Patrick Polino and Parker Berge).
The Glads would erase the lead slightly more than 1 minute later (14:35 mark of the 2nd period) as in his 4th game with the team, Adam Eisele scores his 2nd goal of the season in his 4th game with the team (unassisted) to tie the game. And then another 1:15 later while on the power play (15:49 mark of the 2nd period), the Glads' leading scorer, Alex Young, scores his 27th goal of the season (assisted by Chad Nychuk and Jack O'Brien) to give them their first lead of the game (2-1).
Greenville would even the score in the 3rd period. Ryan O'Reilly scores his 11th goal of the season (4:19 mark of the 3rd period/assisted by Parker Berge) to tie the game at 2. They would retake the lead (3-2) at the 15:38 mark of the 3rd period on Keaton Mastrodonato's 24th goal of the season (assisted by Parker Berge and Neil Shea).
At the 18:40 mark, Atlanta pulls their goalie (Haider) for an extra skater, and somehow (similar to the 2nd period barrage by Greenville), have a shot literally rim in and out of the goal post, barely missing an opportunity to tie the game (Greenville would miss the shot attempt on the empty net). Despite their late-game efforts, the Swamp Rabbits prevail 3-2 and end up winning both games of the 2-game series.
Post-game: The Glads look to get back in the win column as they have their sights on home-ice advantage for the 1st round of the playoffs.
While it's expected for Greenville to come out aggressive and somewhat desperate, no one could forecast their 1st period foray, as they outshoot Atlanta by a 12-3 margin. The shots would eventually balance out (Greenville holds a 34-30 edge), and while Atlanta has the edge on the power play (1 for 5 for the Glads compared to 0 for 4 for the Swamp Rabbits), in a game which clearly has a playoff feel, the early start is the difference in the game.
Ethan Haider turns in a solid effort (31 saves on 34 shots), but Isaiah Saville does just enough (28 saves on 30 shots); as a result, Greenville is now 6 points out of a playoff spot (they have 8 games left in their regular season with 2 in hand over the team they are trying to catch, the Savannah Ghost Pirates).
Tonight's loss is the 2nd in a row for the Glads (who have still won 5 of their last 7), but they now drop to 3rd place in the division, 1 point behind South Carolina. They do have a game in hand over (they have 6 games left in their regular season while the while the Stingrays have 5 games left), but with their next 2 games against Savannah, they'll play yet another division foe fighting to secure a playoff berth.
Head Coach Matt Ginn speaks with the media after the game. He notes aspects of the team's play they'll look to address as they look to regain the form shown during their recent 5-game win streak as they continue with their push for playoff positioning (you may watch the full remarks below):
Notes: You may watch in-game snapshots and interviews during the 2025-26 season on our playlist (click HERE). The Glads return to the Gas South District to host the Savannah Ghost Pirates (April 4, 2026/7:10pm EST puck drop) for their Hockey is for Everyone theme game.
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