DULUTH — The Gwinnett Gladiators used their resurgent power play to winning effect for the second straight game Monday.

Scoring three out of five times on the man advantage led the Gladiators to a 4-3 victory over Cincinnati, one of the ECHL’s top teams, before a sparse crowd at the Arena at Gwinnett Center.

The Gladiators regained the league’s top power-play ranking in a win over Florida on Saturday. Playing their fourth game in five days, including a 10-hour bus ride back from Florida, Gwinnett continued to make the most of its chances.

The Gladiators got out to a quick start, scoring on the power play just 2:56 into the game, and used two more power-play goals to rally from a 3-2 deficit.

“The power play has been great, the penalty kill has been pretty good and five-on-five we’re playing better,” Gwinnett head coach Jeff Pyle said. “We’re just giving ourselves a chance to win. Which tonight was pretty much a must-win.”

The victory, earned on a deflection out front by Tom Zanoski at 7:29 of the third, put the Gladiators just two points out of the American Conference’s eighth and final playoff spot with 12 games left in the season.

“I’m sure there’s guys that are pretty tired,” said rookie forward Matt Francis, who had a goal and an assist. “But we knew it was a pretty big game. If you can’t get up for this game, there’s something wrong with you.

“Our backs are against the wall here and we don’t really have much option but to (be resilient). I think right now we’re trying to play desperate hockey and it worked well tonight.”

Two teams at opposite ends of the conference standings engaged in a back-and-forth battle for 60 minutes. But Zanoski’s 22nd goal, a tip on Drew Paris’ booming shot from the blue line, held up.

“How about us getting a lead and holding it?” Pyle said. “We’ve been playing hard every game. I give our guys so much credit because they’re so resilient. They keep coming back and they don’t quit.”

The Gladiators scored first, but gave it back on a defensive gaffe less than four minutes later.

Scott Mifsud pounced on a juicy rebound at the top of the circle and hammered a shot past Cincinnati goalie Jeremy Smith. Paris took the original slap shot from the blue line that Smith directed away, but not out of danger.

The Cyclones answered at 6:42 when Scott Reynolds was left unguarded on the backdoor. Reynolds got a cross-crease feed from Cincy’s leading point-getting Barrett Ehgoetz and had an easy put-away for his 20th goal of the season, but first in 10 games.

The momentum continued to fluctuate and both teams had leads erased in the second period.

Gwinnett went up 2-1 just 1:48 into the second with good teamwork during 4-on-4 play. Mike Forney set up a pick at the blue line that allowed Francis to drive down the right boards. Francis slid a cross-crease feed to a charging Jamie Fritsch and the rookie defenseman scored his first pro goal.

“Coach preaches shooting a lot so if that play doesn’t go through, I’m probably getting sat down the next shift,” Francis said with a laugh. “But I heard Fritschie calling for it and I just kind of threw it out there, a little softy, and he got to it.”

An unlucky ricochet off a stanchion in the corner allowed Cincinnati to tie it for the second time. The puck shot straight into the slot and Chris Morehouse was there to put it home at 3:53.

The Cyclones scored again at 12:22 on an unassisted goal by Patrik Prokop that rolled in off goalie Danny Taylor. But Cincinnati’s first lead of the game didn’t last long.

Hans Benson was called for roughing at 13:51 and Francis tied the game 3-3 on the power play 21 seconds later. Francis, on an eight-game point streak, knifed through the left face-off circle and leaned into a hard one-timer that whizzed by Smith at 14:12.

“I just saw the D-man kind of open his legs so I tried to use him as a screen,” Francis said. “I think it kicked off his shin pads and changed directions on the goalie there. So I got a little lucky there, but you know, just shoot the puck on net.”