Lynx pull out close win on road vs. Gladiators

DULUTH, Ga. - The Gwinnett Gladiators gave up two short-handed goals and fell to Augusta 3-2 in front of 7,183 fans on Saturday night at the Arena at Gwinnett Center.

The Lynx's third goal - their second while playing a man down - was painful on several levels. It doubled the Gladiators' deficit and cued the departure of goalie Simon Lajeunesse, making his Gwinnett debut.

Lajeunesse stayed down on the ice after trying to get across the crease to stop Jamie Johnson's shot at 7:41 in the third period. Lajeunesse had to be carried into the locker room with severe cramps, and Sean Fields finished the game between the pipes.

But it was too late for the Gladiators (17-10-4) to salvage any points as they had the night before in Augusta. The Lynx (11-16-4) rebounded from a shootout loss to Gwinnett and finished the three-game mini-series with the Gladiators 2-0-1.

"It was a typical game where we played hard and we had guys with individual breakdowns," Gwinnett head coach Jeff Pyle said. "We had opportunities. We just didn't finish again.

"(Augusta) is a lot better team than when they started. They're playing hard, they're doing some things well. And again, they scored when they had to."

Augusta scored a gift-wrapped, short-handed goal 2 minutes into the game. A defensive giveaway allowed Louis Goulet to latch onto the puck deep in Gwinnett's zone. He found defenseman Treavor Peterson streaking up the middle, who tucked his shot behind the goaltender. It was Peterson's first goal of the season.

Gwinnett had two opportunities to even the score, including Mike Vigilante's own short-handed breakaway, but Matus Kostur preserved the shutout through intermission.

Kostur had that spoiled by All-Star defenseman Jim Jackson at 3:24 of the second period. Jackson's rebound tally evened the game at one, but Kostur fended off 38 of the 40 shots he faced and helped Augusta grab another win against Gwinnett.