Solar Bears get bolt of energy

ORLANDO, FLA – With five days off since their last game, fans at the Amway Center expected the Orlando Solar Bears to come out with plenty of energy Saturday night against the Kalamazoo K-Wings. As it turned out, the ECHL affiliate of the Minnesota Wild also got a bit of a kick from the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Former Bolts draft pick Chris Lawrence had three assists in his first game as a Solar Bear and current Tampa player B.J. Crombeen added some needed NHL energy to lead Orlando to a 4-2 win over their visitors from the north. Olivier Fortier also scored twice and added an assist for the Solar Bears (7-5-2-1) as they kicked off a stretch of five games in seven days that will run into the Thanksgiving Day weekend.

“It’s nice to have a good start and most importantly we got the win. Playing with some great players made it easy for me to step right into the system,” Lawrence, who was acquired by Orlando from the San Francisco Bulls on Thursday, said. “Everybody’s coached so well so it made it a lot easier for me that’s for sure.”
Lawrence, a third round draft pick of the Lightning in the 2005 NHL Entry Draft, didn’t get into Orlando until Friday night. Crombeen, who was set to join the Tampa lineup after playing much of the last four seasons with the St. Louis Blues, might have had a little more time in the Solar Bears locker room but each was making their debut Saturday. They became the 29th and 30th different players to don an Orlando jersey in the first fifteen games of the franchise’s inaugural season.
“Beener (Crombeen) is an NHL player. He goes out there and you can tell he’s an NHL guy. I think the guys are following him and he’s doing a good job leading in the short time that he’s been here,” Orlando head coach Drake Berehowsky said. “Chris, he’s an established guy. He’s coming off an injury last season. I remember him from the junior days where he was a star in our league, the Ontario Hockey League. I’m hoping to help him regain his form and I’m hoping to get him back to the level that he wants to play at.”
The Solar Bears looked fresher than they had in last Sunday’s loss to Gwinnett from the drop of the puck. They jumped on the K-Wings and goalie Joel Martin early, determined to keep shooting until the puck went in. That theory worked at the 12:06 of the opening period. Playing with a man advantage, Ryan Blair and Lawrence worked the puck around to Fortier who sent it toward the front of the net. Intended more as a pass than a shot, the puck hit a Kalamazoo defender in front of Martin and deflected past the surprised netminder to put Orlando in front.
The lead lasted just over six minutes before the visitors tied the score thanks to a power play of its own. The play started with defenseman Sam Ftorek diving to keep the puck in the Orlando end. He steered it to teammate Elgin Reid who quickly sent it back to Ftorek who blasted a shot high over the shoulder of Orlando goalie John Curry, evening the score with two minutes left before the first intermission.
Despite being tied heading toward the second period, Berehowsky was extremely pleased with the way his team came out in the opening stanza.
“They were able to heal and get some rest. Anytime you can do that, it’ll benefit your team,” he said. “We came out with some energy, good energy. I thought the first period was our best period by far.”
If Berehowsky was happy with the opening period, he had to be thrilled with the Solar Bears play in the second. They scored three times in an eight minute span to take control of the game.
Orlando moved into the lead for good at the 8:08 mark thanks to hard work and hustle. Kevin Baker got the puck in the Kalamazoo end and moved it to Rob Mignardi who put a hard, low shot on Martin. Martin made the save but the rebound came out into the slot where Mat Sisca scooped it up and over the K-Wings goalie for his fifth tally of the season.
Three minutes later, the Solar Bears were on the power play when Fortier launched a drive from the point that Lawrence tipped wide of the net. The puck took a perfect bounce off the back boards right to Mignardi who stuffed it home on a wrap-around that surprised the Kalamazoo defenders. The barrage was completed at 16:08 when Lawrence took the puck below the goal line and fed a perfect pass to the front of the crease where Fortier slammed it in for his second of the game and sixth of the year.
“He’s been awesome. He’s been one of our most consistent forwards all year,” Berehowsky said about Fortier. “He’s been working hard and when you work hard, the luckier you get. He knows the structure that I want to play and he’s bought into it and he’s leading by example out on the ice.”
Things got a little tighter early in the third when John Armstrong was credited with a goal on a shot that changed directions and beat Curry (25 saves). Orlando thought they had gotten that one back when the puck slid underneath Martin out of a scramble. The goal light went on but referee Frederic Leblanc waived it off, saying the net had come off the pegs before the puck crossed the line. It was one of the few things that didn’t go right for the Solar Bears who recorded 42 shots on net – the fifth time they have had at least 40 in a game this season.
After the game, Crombeen said that getting back out on the ice in a game situation brought him back to the feelings he had when he first began his pro career.
“It felt like the first time. Obviously when you haven’t played a game in a while, that first game’s always an adjustment,” he said. “These guys have been playing (together) for a while so I was just trying to catch up and make sure I wasn’t making bad plays that were going to put the team in a bad spot. Hopefully we’ll keep getting better and feel better tomorrow.”
The Solar Bears and K-Wings will play the second game of their three-game series Sunday afternoon at the Amway Center at 3 p.m. Fans are encouraged to bring non-perishable food items that will be given to the Community Food and Outreach Center to assist needy families.
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