SAVANNAH, Ga. – The Savannah Ghost Pirates capped off the preseason on a high note, defeating the Greensboro Gargoyles 5–1 on Saturday night at Enmarket Arena.
The Ghost Pirates struck early, opening the scoring just 3:28 into the first period when Matt Koopman deflected a point shot from Dennis Cesana past goaltender Brent Moran to make it 1–0. After sustained pressure from Greensboro, Savannah extended its lead to 2–0 late in the period. Nick Granowicz found a loose puck in front of the net and buried it past the sprawling Moran. The score remained 2–0 after the opening frame.
Savannah kept rolling in the second period, adding a pair of power-play goals. At 8:06, Hunter Johannes converted from the slot off a feed from Bryce Brodzinski to make it 3–0. Later in the period, Brodzinski found the back of the net himself, firing a shot from the left faceoff circle into the top corner to extend the lead to 4–0. Cesana and Cristophe Tellier earned the assists on the play.
The Gargoyles got on the board late in the second period when Logan Nelson carried the puck to the front of the net and slipped it past Michael Simpson with 1:01 remaining. Jake Elmer collected the lone assist, cutting the deficit to 4–1 heading into the third.
Savannah added one more in the final frame as Mitchell Russell slammed home a rebound off a Nicholas Zabaneh rush at 16:42 to seal the 5–1 victory.
Simpson earned the win in goal, stopping 17 of 18 shots. The Ghost Pirates were perfect on special teams, going 2-for-2 on both the power play and the penalty kill.
The Ghost Pirates open the regular season next Friday when they host the Norfolk Admirals at 7:00 p.m. at Enmarket Arena. Fans can catch the action live on FloHockey or listen on Mixlr.
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