NORFOLK, VA – With the end of their ten-game road trip finally in sight, the Orlando Solar Bears pulled into Norfolk, Virginia to take on the host Norfolk Admirals in a South division battle that pitted the fifth and sixth place teams against each other. Orlando was hoping to end a two-game winless streak but ended up getting a sinking feeling at the hands of the struggling Admirals.
Behind two goals from Brodie Dupont and 39 saves from goalie Ty Reichenbach, Norfolk (8-16-1-0, 17 points) picked up a much needed 4-2 win over Orlando (10-12-4-0, 24 points) in front of an announced crowd of 2,378 at the Scope. Solar Bears goalie Cal Heeter stopped 24 of the 26 shots he faced in suffering his first losing decision in eight starts while Joe Perry returned to the lineup and scored his first goal of the season.
The Solar Bears, coming off a loss in Fort Wayne on Sunday, had hoped to have their lineup in tact heading into the final two games of their three-week trip. It was not to be as early in the week, forwards Jean Dupuy and Martins Dzierkals were called up to the Toronto Marlies. The holes created allowed Orlando head coach Drake Berehowsky to bring Perry, last year’s leading scorer, and Michael Turner off the injured reserve and reserve lists.
Things heated up right away between the two unlikely division rivals when Solar Bears defenseman Mike Monfredo and former Orlando player Kenton Helgesen squared off in a spirited battle just 1:30 after the opening faceoff. Monfredo appeared to have the upper hand in the bout but it seemed to not spark his teammates.
A penalty to defenseman Matias Cleland less than a minute later came back to bite the visitors. On the ensuing power play, Max Cook took the puck to the top of the right circle and sent it toward the net. As it reached the crease area, Patrick D’Amico was there to deftly redirect it over Heeter’s shoulder into the top corner for his fourth goal of the season.
Norfolk’s power play, which had three opportunities in the opening period, connected in the final minute to increase the lead. With Darryl Bootland in the box, some quick passing led to Thomas Frazee feeding Dupont who put a shot up and under the crossbar for his eighth of the year. The score, which came with 18.5 ticks left on the clock in the frame, allowed the Admirals to take a 2-0 lead into the break.
The second period was all about the goalies. Heeter, who was playing for the first time since returning from a quick callup to the Marlies, turned in a perfect performance by stopping all eight Norfolk shots he faced including a clean breakaway by Frazee. At the other end, Reichenbach was on point, turning away eleven Orlando shots in the stanza to go with his clean sheet (13 saves on 13 shots) from the first.
The Solar Bears began the third period by unloading the arsenal on Reichenbach. Instead of collapsing, the young Admirals netminder stood tall, holding off eight shots in the firat half of the period.
Orlando finally got on the board at the 9:35 mark when Perry, who lit the lamp for a team record 35 goals last season, cleaned up his own rebound after he got the puck from Novak. Nolan Valleau picked up the secondary assist on the play.
With time running down, Berehowsky pulled Heeter for an extra attacker. Initially the plan backfired when TJ Melancon banked the puck off the boards into the empty net from his own end for his fifth goal of the year and a 3-1 cushion. That goal became important when J.C. Campagna set up Novak who banged home his team-leading ninth of the season with 7.8 seconds left to make it a one goal game again.
Unfortunately for the Solar Bears, there was no late magic coming as Dupont stole the puck after the ensuing faceoff and buried his second of the game into the empty net with 1.4 ticks left to secure the victory.
Notes: Orlando outshot Norfolk in the contest by a count of 41-28… The Solar Bears went 0-for-2 with the man advantage while the Admirals were 2-for-3… Valleau’s assist on Perry’s goal gave him points in two straight games (1 goal, 1 assist)… Perry’s tally was his 36th with Orlando, moving him into sole possession of third place on the franchise list behind Eric Faille (51 goals) and Brett Findlay (38 goals)… The two teams will complete their two-game set in Norfolk on Saturday night at 7 p.m. The teams will then head south for a trio of games before the Christmas break next Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday in Orlando.
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