DULUTH -- The Gwinnett Gladiators suffered a disappointing 5-2 loss against the Toledo Walleye in front of a lively crowd of 4,689 on Sunday at the Arena at Gwinnett Center.
The Glads and Walleye couldn't find the back of the net in the first period, with Gwinnett goalie Jeff Jaikatis stopping 17 shots to keep the score level.
Early in the second period the Gladiators brought the heat as they beat Toledo goalie Carter Hutton just 1:28 in. The play started with a sharp pass from Mike Bartlett to Joey Haddad who was able to find Brad Miller in the slot for a top-shelf wrister high glove side for the tally. The Gladiators were able to hold the lead into the third period.
The third period was looking good for the Glads, especially when rookie defensemen Shane Sims scored a power play goal. He flicked the puck over the right shoulder of Hutton at 2:26 with the help of Corey Fiehnage and Nikita Kashirsky to put the Glads up 2-0.
Although Gwinnett saw the light at the end of the tunnel, the ice turned into a bottomless pit as the Walleye struck quickly with five goals within 10 minutes. Toledo defenseman Kyle Rogers scored the game-winner at 12:52 of the third. Roger Flick had two goals for the Walleye and David Gilbert added two assists in the 5-2 Gwinnett loss.
It was just the Walleye's second win of the season and they had been averaging a paltry 1.7 goals per game coming in. Jakaitis took the loss allowing four of the goals on 43 shots, while Hutton made 35 saves for the win. Toledo managed to go 2-for-6 on the powerplay while Gwinnett was held to 1-for-5. This was the first time since March of last season that the Glads gave up a 2-0 lead.
Gwinnett is next in action on the road in Elmira on November 9th at 7:05 p.m. EST. They'll be back in Gwinnett on November 18th to take on the South Carolina Stingrays at 7:35 p.m.
Wednesday
July 16th, 2025
3:49AM
