By: Cristiano Simonetta, Catherine Morrison
DULUTH, GA — The Savannah Ghost Pirates (10-16-3-1) battled back and defeated the Atlanta Gladiators (11-17-0-0) 5-2 with three goals in under five minutes in the third period on Saturday night at Gas South Arena.
Atlanta started the scoring with a goal from Navrin Mutter at 8:44. Mutter’s goal was the only goal in the first period.
Savannah retaliated in the second period when Mike Ferraro finished off a pass from Jordan Kaplan in front of the crease at 5:23 to tie the game 1-1. It was Ferraro’s first goal in his second game with the Ghost Pirates this season.
Atlanta came back with a goal of their own from Cody Sylvester at 8:59, capitalizing on a breakaway. The Gladiators would only hold on to their lead for seven minutes, as Jordan Kaplan tied the game with a one-timer to even the score 2-2 at 16:10.
Just over two minutes into the third period, Jett Jones stole the puck and fed Ferraro, who hit the left post. Sebastian Vidmar followed up on the rebound and potted the loose puck for his fourth goal of the season at 2:47. Vidmar added another goal at 6:58, scoring on a breakaway after a Ferraro lead pass.
On the ensuing shift following Vidmar’s second tally, Brandon Estes jumped into the play and rifled home his third goal of the year 25 seconds later. Savannah scored three goals in 4:35, propelling themselves to a 5-2 lead.
Michael Bullion stood tall in net for Savannah, stopping 17 shots for his eighth win of the season. Bullion has won four straight ECHL starts with the Ghost Pirates. Saturday marked Bullion’s first appearance since embarking on a two-game stint with the Henderson Silver Knights of the American Hockey League.
The Ghost Pirates went 0-for-5 on the power play and 3-for-3 on the penalty kill.
Savannah will take on Atlanta on Sunday at Enmarket Arena at 5:00 p.m. ET as the Ghost Pirates wrap up 2023 in style with a New Year’s Eve game at home. For ticket information, go to GhostPiratesHockey.com!
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