PREVIEW: Glads Set the Table for Thanksgiving Day Matchup

WHEN: Thursday, Nov. 24 at 7:00 PM

WHERE: Gas South Arena, - Duluth, Ga.

WHO: Atlanta Gladiators vs Savannah Ghost Pirates

PROMOTION: Bring a canned good item or hygiene product and recieve a buy one, get one free ticket offer for tonight's game!

BROADCAST: All Atlanta Gladiators games are broadcast live on the Gladiators Broadcast Network. Listen to the game online at Mixlr.com, or watch the game on FloHockey.TV.

GAME NOTES

DULUTH, Ga. - The Gladiators and Ghost Pirates clash for a Thanksgiving matchup tonight at Gas South Arena in the third of 13 meetings between the two clubs. Atlanta won the last encounter on Nov. 13 in a 4-3 overtime victory on home ice. The overtime winner against Savannah marked Atlanta’s third straight home win, and the Gladiators ride that streak into tonight’s action. 

Scouting the Ghost Pirates: Savannah has lost four of its last five games, however the Ghost Pirates have also managed points in four of those five contests. Savannah has played in seven games that have reached overtime to lead the league. Rookie Pat Guay leads the Ghost Pirates with 16 points (7G-9A) in 11 games and is tied for second in rookie scoring across the league. In net, Isaiah Saville, Jordan Papirny, and Darion Hanson form a three-man rotation. 

The Captains Line: Atlanta’s three alternate captains, Eric Neiley, Cody Sylvester, and Mike Pelech, have combined for five goals in the last two games. Each of the three has at least one multi-point effort across the last pair of games, and Neiley leads the trio with three multi-point games this season. All three are included in Atlanta’s top five scorers.

Kirk Reassigned to Atlanta: On Tuesday, the Arizona Coyotes reassigned forward Liam Kirk to Atlanta from the Tucson Roadrunners in the AHL. Kirk appeared in one game this season with Tucson and posted two goals and one assist in eight contests last season with the Roadrunners. The Maltby, England native is the first player drafted in the NHL to be both born and trained in England. Kirk was taken by the Coyotes in the seventh round of the 2018 NHL Draft and is currently on an NHL contract with Arizona. 

Topes is Top Notch: Defenseman Derek Topatigh leads Atlanta in scoring with 11 points (1G-10A) and has tabbed assists in each of his last six games. Topatigh picked up his 10th helper of the season last Saturday against Florida when Eric Neiley knocked in a Topatigh rebound on the power play. Eight of Topatigh’s points have come on the man-advantage which ties him for the ECHL lead in power-play points. The Ontario native’s 11 points ties him for fourth in ECHL defenseman scoring, and his six-game assist streak is tied for the longest current assist run in the league.