Jacksonville Icemen eliminated from ECHL playoff race

Turning point: Adam Eisele scored the deciding goal in the second tiebreaking shootout round for the Atlanta Gladiators, earning a 5-4 victory and mathematically eliminating the Jacksonville Icemen from ECHL playoff contention on April 11 at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena.

Three stars: 1. Eisele, Atlanta (shootout goal). 2. Logan Cockerill, Jacksonville (two goals, one assist). 3. Kirklan Irey, Atlanta (two goals).

Penalty box: Cockerill scored with the extra man for a 3-2 third-period lead, but the Icemen (27-31-8-2) only went 1 for 9 on the power play and failed to convert a full two-minute two-man advantage in overtime.

Atlanta Gladiators forward Ethan Scardina (37) and Jacksonville Icemen forward Simon Labelle (20) vie for the puck during Saturday's game.

Around the rink: Although Jacksonville can still match the 72 points of the fourth-place Savannah Ghost Pirates, Savannah would qualify for the Kelly Cup playoffs because of their superior regulation win total, which is the first tiebreaker under ECHL rules. … The Ghost Pirates have 34 regulation wins, while Jacksonville cannot finish with more than 31. … Adam McMaster and Jed Pietila scored in the second period for Jacksonville. … Irey scored his first two Gladiator goals in the third period, the latter forcing overtime. … Michael Bullion made 21 saves in the Icemen net, while Ethan Haider had 30 for Atlanta (43-22-4-1). … McMaster, Cockerill and Colby Ambrosio all failed to convert for the Icemen in the shootout. … The Icemen recorded a crowd of 12,032 in the shootout loss. … With the result, Jacksonville misses the playoffs for the first time since the 2020-21 season, contested with an altered format due to the coronavirus pandemic.

This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Jacksonville Icemen eliminated from ECHL playoff contention