Joey Cipollone & Blake Murray Both Have Two Goal Games As Atlanta Rebounds In Kalamazoo

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ECHL Atlanta Gladiators

Joey Cipollone & Blake Murray Both Have Two Goal Games As Atlanta Rebounds In Kalamazoo

March 9, 2025 - ECHL (ECHL)
Atlanta Gladiators News Release


KALAMAZOO, MI. - The Atlanta Gladiators (26-25-5-2) took down the Kalamazoo Wings (24-27-3-1) by a final score of 6-4 on Saturday night, at the Wings Event Center, in Kalamazoo, Michigan.

Ethan Haider got the start in net for the Gladiators, while, on the other side of the rink, stood the American Hockey League contracted goaltender, Jonathan Lemieux.

64 seconds into the game Travis Broughman went to the box for Kalamazoo, resulting in an early Gladiator power-play chance. Right as Broughman came out of the box, at 3:04, Blake Murray (13th) blasted the puck into the cage, after an amazing assist from Anthony Firriolo.

At 14:50, Kalamazoo entered the attacking end on the rush, and a trailing Zach Berzolla (3rd) wired a shot upstairs past the glove hand of Ethan Haider.

Just 65 seconds later, Cody Sylvester (22nd) deposited a rebound at the side of the K-Wings net, assisted by Jackson Pierson and Derek Topatigh.

At 5:35, and then at 11:15, Kalamazoo struck twice to take a 3-2 lead. First, it was Blake Christensen, who scored his ninth of the season, assisted by Lee Lapid and Ryan Naumovski. The go-ahead goal was netted by Max Humitz (13th) assisted by Phillip Beaulieu and Jon Martin.

Late in the second, while on the power-play, Joey Cipollone (10th) turned and fired from the bottom of the far circle, and found daylight past Lemieux.

With 9 seconds to go in the frame, from a similar angle, Joey Cipollone (11th) scored again, giving the Gladiators an improbable advantage heading into the intermission. The tally was assisted by Jackson Pierson and Chad Nychuk.

In the final frame, Blake Murray (14th) wasted no time, firing a wrist shot from the high slot past an unsuspecting Lemieux. It was Murray's second goal of the game, and it was assisted by Randy Hernandez and Brenden Datema.

Following the goal from Blake Murray, Jonathan Lemieux, who had allowed five goals on 31 shots, was pulled in favor of Hunter Vorva.

At 12:55, Kalamazoo would get a goal closer, as Quinn Preston (10th) put forth a beautiful move in-tight, potting a gorgeous power-play goal. Zach Okabe and Davis Codd assisted on the tally.

At 19:16, with the net-empty, Andrew Jarvis would score his second shorthanded empty net goal in his last three games, securing the two points for Atlanta.

Ethan Haider made 34 saves on 38 shots in the victory for the Gladiators, while Jonathan Lemieux, before being pulled, stopped 26 out of 31. After coming into the contest, Hunter Vorva denied eight of eight for Kalamazoo.

"I though it was a good response," head coach Derek Nesbitt commented. "We competed and got a lot more pucks and traffic at the net and it paid off. Now, we need to stay consistent in our details and good habits and string more of these wins together."

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