Welcome home: the Atlanta Gladiators maintain their solid play with a 3-1 win over the Florida Everblades and move into 1st place in the ECHL South Division

Preview: Florida Everblades (26-9-5-1/58 points/1st place in the ECHL South) vs Atlanta Gladiators (28-10-1-0/57 points/2nd place in the ECHL South)

Coming into tonight's ECHL South Division matchup between the division-leading Florida Everblades and 2nd place Atlanta Gladiators (February 4, 2026 at 7:10pm at the Gas South District), it is slowly moving into the "crunch time" portion of the 72-game regular season schedule, as the top 4 teams in each division make the post-season.

Despite playing 2 more games than Atlanta, Florida is in 1st place with a 1 point lead in the division over Atlanta. With a winning record over their last 10 games (5-3-2-0), they'll look to leading scorer Anthony Romano (17 goals/23 assists/40 points/+13 rating) to pace their offense (averaging 3.39 goals per game). Doing so against the Glads' defense figures to be a daunting task, as their league-leading defense allows slightly more than 2 goals per game (2.13). Ethan Haider (14-5-0-/2.39 goals allowed average/.922 save percentage/1 shutout) is in goal as he and the defense look to have their usual stout and solid effort which is the hallmark of the team's success this season.

Coming off a highly successful road trip (a 5-1-1-0 record in the 7 games on the road since their last home game on January 19th), Atlanta's offense is led by Chad Nychuk (6 goals/29 assists/35 points/+24 rating) as he's one of 4 players with 30 or more points. With an offense on an upward trend (as they average 3.13 goals per game), they look to apply pressure on goaltender Will Cranley (13-2-1/2.18 goals allowed average/.914 save percentage/2 shutouts) and the Everblades' defense who is also allowing slightly more than 2 goals per game (2.29 goals per game) in their effort to maintain their solid play (they have a 7-2-1-0 record over their last 10 games). To add to the importance of tonight's game, Atlanta comes in winning 3 of the 4 previous matchups, so a win tonight also gives them the advantage in any tiebreaker scenarios.

Recap: The Glads' return home and keep their momentum going with a win over the Everblades

The Atlanta Gladiators open up the 1st period in taking a 1-0 lead. Literally no more than 10 to 20 seconds in their 1st power play opportunity of the game (7:12 in the 1st period), Alex Young's power play goal (his 14th goal of the season/assisted by Jack O'Brien and Chad Nychuk) give the team the early lead.

Nearly 4 minutes later (11:01 in the 1st period), Ryley Appeit hits paydirt with his 1st goal of the season (assisted by Ethan Scardina and Nolan Orzeck) to take a 2-0 lead. However, the Everblades would get back in the game nearly a minute later thanks to Reid Duke. His 11th goal of the season (12:20 in the 1st period assisted by Jett Jones and Zach Berzolla) makes it a 2-1 game. In the 2nd period, Atlanta would make it a 3-1 game (12:52 in the 2nd period) on Carson Denomie's 6th goal of the season (assisted by Jack O'Brien and Zach Yoder).

At the 13:21 mark of the 3rd period, tensions boil as both teams get involved in multiple physical altercations. Florida's Sean Allen receives a roughing and a game misconduct for fighting (continuing altercation) and Atlanta's Ryley Appelt (a minor penalty for roughing) and Ryan Nolan (a minor penalty for roughing) also receive penalties.

This gives Florida a temporary edge and apparent goal at the 15:40 mark of the 3rd period, but after the referees' review, the goal is overturned.

Atlanta would hold on for a 3-1 win and not only taking a 4-1 lead in the overall season matchups, but moving into sole possession of 1st place in the ECHL South.

Even though the Everblades outshoot the Glads (40 to 22), the Glads have the edge on the power play (Atlanta is 1 for 2 while Florida is scoreless on their 3 power play opportunities). The team's solid defensive play is highlighted by Ethan Haider's goaltending (39 saves on 40 shots), and the team's timely offense are the difference-makers in their win.

Post-game: In sticking to their game plan and overall team cohesion, the Atlanta Gladiators sit atop the ECHL South Division.

The Glads' Ryley Appelt, Jack O'Brien, and Ethan Haider join us post-game as the team continues their winning ways. All speak to the team's overall focus, preparation, and game-planning as important parts for the win and feel with continued consistency, are in a position to build from game to game (you may watch segments of their interviews below):

Notes: All photos and video are recorded via our full season coverage (click HERE to learn more). You may watch and subscribe to our 2025-26 season coverage via our playlist (click HERE) which includes full interviews, game-snapshots, and related video. The Glads return to the ice on February 6, 2026 to host the Jacksonville Icemen (click HERE for our preview from earlier in the week).