LAS VEGAS, NV – Dragging a four-game losing streak behind them, the Orlando Solar Bears certainly needed a change in fortunes to get back on the right track. Friday night, they just happened to be in the right place to find Lady Luck and get her on their side.
It took 65 minutes of play and a shootout but the Solar Bears, led by a solid performance by goalie John Curry and skillful shooting on the deciding penalty shots, broke their skid with a 2-1 victory over the Las Vegas Wranglers at the Orleans Arena. Curry stopped 27 shots through regulation and overtime before thwarting the three shootout shots he faced, bringing his season record in the tie-breaking sessions to 20 saves on 23 shots faced.
Nick Petersen, C. J. Severyn and Olivier Fortier each beat Las Vegas netminder Joe Fallon in the shootout. Petersen and Severyn staked Orlando to a commanding 2-0 lead after two rounds before Fortier finished off the defending ECHL Western Conference champions with his tally in the fourth round.
The Solar Bears might have expected Las Vegas to be a bit tired at the start after the Wranglers went to a shootout the night before against San Francisco. Orlando’s lack of aggressiveness in putting shots on net seemed to be fixed as the visitors registered the first six shots of the contest, including a great chance by Mat Sisca that Fallon stopped with his shoulder. By the 10:25 mark of the first period, Orlando was out-shooting Las Vegas 8-1 with eight different Solar Bears putting a shot on Fallon.
The Wranglers started getting their wind back in the late stages of the stanza, testing Curry in one particular flurry. When the intermission came along, the Solar Bears had a 9-4 shot advantage but the scoreboard was still deadlocked at 0-0.
Orlando’s luck appeared to be changing for the good as the second period opened. Just 19 seconds in, Severyn was in the right place at the right time to collect a bad bounce off the boards in the Wranglers defensive zone. He wasted no time in sending a shot from the right circle that snuck inside the right post past Fallon. The lead almost grew to two a couple minutes later but Orlando defenseman Derick Martin’s blast from the point caught iron and bounced away.
As the period approached the midpoint, the Solar Bears headed to their first power play of the game when Wrangler Eric Lampe went off for roughing. Just 22 seconds into the man advantage, Orlando’s Ryan Cruthers was nabbed for hooking, creating a four-on-four situation with the face-off in the Solar Bears defensive zone. It took just four seconds for Las Vegas to knot the score when Andrew Sarauer scooped up the rebound of a Jamie Fritsch shot and popped it home.
Things got a bit testy in the final five minutes of the stanza and it almost cost the visitors. Solar Bear Mike Liambas, just back from a stint on the 21-day injured reserve list, tangled with Las Vegas’ Bretton Stamler. When the dust settled, Stamler was sitting on his team’s bench with no penalty while Liambas was smacked with a five-minute fighting major and a game misconduct. The ensuing Wranglers five-minute power play could have cost Orlando the game but Curry and the penalty killers held the home team off the board.
The final period was more of a defensive struggle than the first two as both teams clamped down. Curry and Fallon were both solid between the pipes and the Wranglers successfully killed off two Solar Bear power plays. Neither team was able to break the tie, sending Orlando to its seventh game of the year with free hockey while Las Vegas was having to face its second overtime in as many nights and fifth of the season.
The teams combined for a total of five shots in the extra period, none of them lighting the goal light. Still tied at the end of the five minutes, the game headed to the shootout where Orlando took control and cashed out with the win.
The two teams will complete their quick two-game set with a rematch Saturday night at the Orleans Arena. Game time is 7:05 pm pacific time (10:05 pm on the east coast).
Contact the author at don.money@prohockeynews.com
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