Francis Buries OT Winner in Comeback Win over Icemen
ECHL Atlanta Gladiators

Francis Buries OT Winner in Comeback Win over Icemen

Published on February 6, 2026 under ECHL (ECHL)
Atlanta Gladiators News Release


Atlanta Gladiators' Jack O'Brien congratulated by team
Atlanta Gladiators' Jack O'Brien congratulated by team
(Atlanta Gladiators)

Duluth, GA - The Atlanta Gladiators defeated the Jacksonville Icemen 4-3 in overtime on Friday night at Gas South Arena, overcoming a 3-1 deficit in the second period to win.

The Gladiators hosted the Icemen at Gas South Arena in the 7th meeting of the season between the two clubs. T.J Semptimphelter started in net for the Gladiators, while Topias Leinonen started between the pipes for the Icemen in his debut appearance for Jacksonville.

The Icemen got off to a fast start, taking an early 1-0 lead just 1:08 into the contest as Bennet MacArthur scored his 13th goal of the season from Craig Martin and Christopher Brown on a timp-in. Jacksonville doubled their lead to 2-0 just 4:41 later, as James Hardie scored his 3rd goal of the season from Nathan Berke and Ryan Pitoscia. Jacksonville's big first period had them up 2-0 after 20 minutes and outshooting Atlanta 12-7.

After a sloppy first period, the Gladiators got some wind in their sails early in the second period as Cody Sylvester scored his 10th of the year from Joey Cipollone and Ryan Francis to make it a 2-1 game 2:21 into the middle frame. The Icemen responded almost two minutes later to restore their two goal lead at 3-1 with a power play goal from Craig Martin, his 9th of the year, assisted by Adam McMaster and Holden Wale. The Gladiators weren't phased and responded with a goal from Jack O'Brien 8:24 into the period from Nolan Orzeck to cut the deficit to one. O'Brien's 19th goal of the season was set up thanks to hard work from Orzeck to keep the puck away from the Icemen to make it a 3-2 game. With 6:42 left in the second period, Alex Young scored the tying goal while his stick broke to make it a 3-3 game. Young's 15th of the year was a power play goal from Chad Nychuk and Sylvester. Young's stick snapped on the release, causing the puck to slide on the ice and into the net past the netminder Leinonen. With 4 minutes left in the third period, the game was paused due to a medical emergency in the crowd and went into the second intermission. The Gladiators outscored the Icemen 3-1 in the second period to tie the game at 3-3 after two.

After the intermission, the Gladiators and Icemen resumed play finishing the final 4 minutes of the second period and then went into the third period after a TV timeout. There was no scoring in the third period but the Gladiators put together a lot of good offensive zone time and began to tire out the Icemen hemming them in their own zone. Leinonen left the game in with about 15 minutes left in the third period and was replaced by Michael Bullion. Tied 3-3 after three periods, the Gladiators and Icemen headed to overtime.

Jacksonville had possession for all but 15 seconds of overtime, as the Icemen were able to control the puck for the opening shifts of overtime before coughing the puck up leading to the game winning goal. Ryan Francis buried the game winning goal from Jack O'Brien and Nolan Orzeck to complete the comeback for the Gladiators and give them the 4-3 win. Francis' OT winner was his 4th of the season and the 50th of his pro career. Semptimphelter stopped 22/25 in the win as the Gladiators went 1/3 on the power play and 3/4 on the penalty kill.

With wins in three straight games, the Gladiators have improved to 30-10-1 on the season and will look to continue to soar to new heights on Wednesday night when they take on the Greenville Swamp Rabbits at Bon Secours Wellness Arena. Puck drop is set for 7:05 PM EST, coverage on the Gladiators Broadcast Network on FloHockey and YouTube will begin at 6:45 PM EST.

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Atlanta Gladiators' Jack O'Brien congratulated by team
Atlanta Gladiators' Jack O'Brien congratulated by team
   



ECHL Stories from February 6, 2026


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