Written by Noah Epstein

DULUTH, GA -- Blake Murray’s top-shelf, backhand goal past Matt Vernon 60 seconds into overtime propelled Atlanta to defeat the Icemen 3-2 on Friday night, snapping Jacksonville’s three-game winning streak.

All four periods, overtime included, featured Jacksonville struggling offensively early on. 

The Icemen didn’t get a shot on net until the Gladiators already had double-digit shots in the opening period. No goals were scored in the first stanza, as Jacksonville showed resilience and ended up with eight shots on net and plenty of time spent in the Atlanta zone. 

But there was limited time spent in the Atlanta end of the ice in the first few minutes of every period. And that hurt the Icemen in the second period when Chad Nychuk scored the game’s first goal just 1:20 in. 

Jacksonville tied the game later on in the second, with Olivier Nadeau cleaning up the boards on a power play and scoring his third goal of the season to make it 1-1. Davis Koch was credited with an assist on the goal, which extended his point streak to nine straight contests.

However, Atlanta responded under a minute later to retake the lead. There was a scrum of bodies fighting for the puck behind Vernon’s net. After being stationary for roughly 10 seconds, the puck found its way to Dominiks Marcinkevics, who fed Randy Hernández in front of the net for the score.

Atlanta carried the 2-1 lead into the third period, and the numbers heavily favored the home team. The Gladiators owned a record of 3-0-1 when leading after two periods, scored half of its goals on the season in the third period (11/22) and had outshot its opponents 151-130 in the final stanza.

But despite another slow start in a period, Jacksonville wasn’t going down without a battle. 

With just under 6:00 to go in regulation, the Icemen found themselves on an odd-man rush, with Ivan Chukarov heading up the boards on the left side of the ice. Chukarov delivered a pass into the slot, where Connor Russell was left all alone. Russell buried the shot to tie the game at 2, which was his first goal of the season.

The two squads went back-and-forth across the ice, each team having several chances to take a lead in the last few minutes of regulation. But both Matt Vernon and Ethan Haider stood their ground, providing free hockey.

Reminiscent of the prior three periods, Atlanta controlled the puck to start overtime. 60 seconds in, Murray sent Gladiator fans home happy with an unassisted goal, his second of the year, to beat Jacksonville 3-2.

The Icemen entered Friday night having won three straight games and coming off a 5-1 homestand. They left with their 14th point, moving to 6-3-2 on the season.

Jacksonville plays in Atlanta for the second straight night on Saturday, with puck drop at 7 p.m.