Snipers Blank Gladiators 4–0, Return to Semi-Pro Final for Second Straight Year

The Long Island Empire Snipers are headed back to the PIHA Semi-Pro Championship Series after a complete 4–0 shutout of the Marple Gladiators in Saturday’s single-elimination semifinal at Pepsi Roller Sports Arena.

Long Island controlled the game wire-to-wire, outshooting Marple 22–11 and getting a perfect performance in net from Brett Eoviero (#35), who stopped all 11 shots he faced.

How it happened

The Snipers opened the scoring at 4:51 of the first, when Eric Rieger (#77) finished at even strength off passes from James Rieger (#7) and Ryan Wolsiefer (#6).

The game broke open in the second period with three more Long Island goals:

• Daniel Nelson (#66) struck on the power play at 5:09, assisted by Stephen Falkowski (#97) and Nick Casazza (#4).
• Will Lalor (#47) made it 3–0 at 5:02 (even strength).
• Vinny Pontrello (#11) capped it at 1:30, assisted by Eric Rieger (#77).

Marple goaltender Nikolas Tkacz (#32) made 18 saves in defeat, but the Snipers’ pace and defensive structure limited second chances and kept the Gladiators off the board entirely.

Up Next: Snipers vs Mops for the Semi-Pro Title

With the win, the Snipers return to the Finals for the second year in a row, looking to avenge last season’s championship loss. They’ll face the Raleigh Mops in the best-of-three Semi-Pro Final, with Game 1 set for Sunday at 9:15am.