ORLANDO, Fla – Mired in a three-game losing streak, the Orlando Solar Bears needed something to break them out of their slump. They also needed something to bust up a three-game negative skid at the Amway Center. Maybe it was the big crowd. Maybe it was the special camouflage uniforms in honor of Veteran’s Day weekend. Whatever it was, it worked.
Rob Mignardi and Kevin Baker each scored two goals during a five-score
Rob Mignardi scored two goals%2C including the game winner%2C to help Orlando break a three-game losing streak (Photo courtesy of Orlando Solar Bears)
“Any time you get a win after a little bit of a losing streak, It’s always good to get that one and start going the other way,” Baker said.
Both teams were dragging the chains of losing streaks behind them onto the ice and in the early minutes of the game it showed. Neither team wanted to make the critical mistake that might open the floodgates so shots on net were at a premium.
Things loosened up with 8:25 left in the first when Elmira’s Brad Peltz was blasted in the middle of the Jackals defensive zone. The hit and ensuing fight between Elmira’s Jordon Southorn and Orlando’s Brett Lyon livened up the crowd and both offenses. The Solar Bears had the more numerous and better of the chances in the stanza, out-shooting Elmira 16-8 but the scoreboard remained at 0-0.
Coming into the game, Orlando had given up 18 opening period goals so for head coach Drake Berehowsky, not allowing Elmira to score was a big plus.
“We don’t want to ever give up any goals so anytime you come out and not give up any goals, it’s a great sign,” Berehowsky said. “I thought the guys really bought in tonight to the structure. They really tried to focus on it. On the bench you could hear them talking about the way we want to play.”
If the first period belonged to the home team, the second was property of the visitors. Elmira (6-5-0-0) owned the shot board, launching 17 at Orlando goalie John Curry, and also took control of the scoring column. 2:31 in, Jean Bourbeau drove one that hit Curry in the shoulder and bounced away to Dustin Gazley who tapped it into the open net. Late in the period, another rebound from a Curry save came out to Darren Kramer who picked the top corner of the net to beat the Orlando netminder.
In between the goals, Kramer and Solar Bear forward Josh Caron put on a show with a very entertaining fight. The pair tossed away their gloves and helmets as they glided to center ice before coming together and trading blows. Even though Caron and Kramer are very similar in stature and weight, it was Caron who landed the majority of the blows before Kramer wrestled him to the ice.
Down by two entering the final period, Orlando needed something to ignite the flames of a comeback. The flashpoint came at the 5:26 mark when Mat Sisca turned a Ryan Blair pass into a one-time bomb that blew past Jackals goalie Maxime Clermont to trim the margin to 2-1.
Elmira nearly got the two-goal lead back moments later when Jordan Pietrus had a point-blank shot but Curry (30 saves) made the save. The save looked huge when at the 8:22 mark the Solar Bears appeared to score to tie the game. Problem was referee Chris Pitoscia saw an Orlando player make or appear to make incidental contact with Clermont and waived off the tally.
The disallowed score only heightened Orlando’s resolve to not let the game go into the loss column. With 6:21 to go in regulation, Mignardi brought the home crowd to its feet with the game-tying goal. The play came about thanks to a brilliant pass by Nick Petersen who sent a pretty backhanded dish out to Mignardi who shoveled it into a wide open net. Less than a minute later, Orlando’s power play broke a 1-for-32 slump when Baker cashed in the rebound of a Ryan Ginand shot to put the Solar Bears in front to stay.
Elmira pushed back looking for the equalizer, pinning the Solar Bears in their defensive zone for much of the next minute. The sequence finally came to a halt when Curry snatched a Jack Downing out of the air before it found its way into the net. Twenty seconds after the Curry robbery, Mignardi was in the right place at the right time, scooping up the rebound of a Sisca shot and lighting the goal light behind Clermont (37 saves).
Down by two with under three minutes remaining, the Jackals pulled Clermont in an effort to quickly score . The strategy failed when Baker put the puck into the vacated net with 58 ticks left for his second goal of the night and third of the season. A late power play allowed Elmira one final chance to close the gap and they did when Downing beat Curry with less than one second to go to produce the final score.
After the game, Mignardi, who ended a six-game drought with his two goals, said that he hopes that Saturday’s game will jump start him toward being a bigger contributor to the Solar Bears’ cause.
“It’s a huge confidence boost for us as a team. For myself personally, I know that I can help this team offensively as well as defensively,” he said. “For myself to get those two goals and the game winner it was special. For the team to battle back like that in the third period was huge for us.”
The Solar Bears have little time to rest as they will host the Gwinnett Gladiators on Sunday afternoon at 3 p.m. The Gladiators, who are coming off a 7-6 come-from-behind win over the Florida Everblades, have owned Orlando so far this season with three straight wins including back-to-back victories at the Amway Center last week. Baker said that he and his teammates are chomping at the bit to get some revenge on their South division rivals.
“It wasn’t the outcome we wanted the last two games here at home,” he said. “It’s going to be a good game tomorrow.” Contact the author at don.money@prohockeynews.com Follow us on Twitter @prohockeynews
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