ORLANDO, FLA – After a rather long and tiring weekend of short rosters and gutty performances, the Orlando Solar Bears came back to the Amway Center for their last game before the ECHL’s Christmas break. It was a combination night of celebration as the Solar Bears donned their festive ugly sweater jerseys for the first time and had their annual Teddy Bear Toss for childrens charities in Central Florida.
While Luke Boka ignited a record-setting rain of stuffed toys with an early goal, in the end to main goal of taking two points turned into a stocking full of coal.
Boka’s score 2:10 into the first period turned into 8,728 furry gifts for kids, it was one of the few bright spots as the Atlanta Gladiators (12-11-2-0) scored four unanswered goals on the way to a 5-3 victory over the Solar Bears (13-11-1-0) in front of an announced crowd of 7,108. The visitors were led by Michael Pelech, who netted two goals and an assist, and captain Derek Nesbitt with a goal and an assist in his 999th professional career regular season contest.
Kyle Topping (goal, assist) and Aaron Luchuk (goal, 2 assists) were the other scorers for Orlando, which saw its two-game win streak halted. Andrew McLean extended his points streak to three games (1 goal, 4 assists) with a pair of helpers.
The big news heading into the game were the roster moves made by Head Coach and General Manager Drake Berehowsky in the time between Sunday’s win in Tulsa and Tuesday’s contest. On Monday, it was announced that fan favorite forward Hunter Fejes had returned from playing in Europe and signed on the dotted line. Then hours before game 25 of the 2021-22 season dropped the puck, stalwart defenseman Nolan Valleau was inked to a contract along with rookie Owen Robinson.
While Valleau was placed on reserve and did not dress, Fejes had a much stranger evening. When he got to the City Beautiful, he was missing something: his equipment. Expecting that the gear would eventually arrive, Berehowsky put Fejes on the lineup card. The equipment did get to the Amway, allowing Fejes to skate the final shift of the second period and take regular turns throughout the final frame.
In anticipation of the Solar Bears’ first score on the night, the crowd was already abuzz and stocked with animals of every type, color and size. Little did they know that the chance to celebrate the yearly tradition – which took last year off due to COVID-19 – would come before some had even settled into their seats for the night.
Atlanta’s Pelech was tagged for a slashing penalty 1:10 into the first frame, giving Orlando an early power play. A minute into the advantage, the Solar Bears took advantage. Brayden Barker worked the puck off the boards in the Atlanta defensive zone back to Topping who fed McLean at the point, McLean saw Luchuk in his familiar power play spot – the opposite side faceoff circle. Luchuk hammered a shot that Gladiators goalie Tyler Parks stopped. The rebound went right to Boka who tried a backhanded cross-ice pass to Barker. It never got there as hit the skate of an Atlanta defenseman and into the net for Boka’s seventh of the season and the start of the flying fur.
The rest of the opening period belonged to Atlanta. On the way to a 22-shot stanza, the Gladiators put three past Solar Bears netminder Zach Emond. At the 8:59 mark, Pelech led a foray into the Orlando end. He and Cody Sylvester ran a crossover with Pelech dropping a pass and heading for the crease. Sylvester closed to within a couple feet of the blue paint before backhanding a pass to Pelech who was open between two defenders. Pelech banged it home for his fifth of the year.
A little over five minutes later, Pelech was at it again, netting his second of the night. Sylvester earned his second assist of the stanza, popping a shot on net that Emond fended off. The rebound slid to the top of the crease where again Pelech had enough room between defenders to jam the puck between the netminder’s legs for his sixth of the 2021-22 campaign. That was followed less than a minute later when Elijah Vilio took a pass from his defensive zone and rocketed up the ice. He eventually was able to turn the corner on a Solar Bears defender but had the puck poked off his stick blade. Luckily for Vilio, the biscuit followed him across the crease where he recollected and shoveled a backhander into the cage for his third of the season and a 3-1 Gladiators lead after one.
Orlando had to feel snake-bitten when Luchuk clanged the crossbar. Many in the building thought it had crossed the line but after a short review, the no goal call stood. The frustration only doubled a couple of minutes later when after a dump in, Pelech was first on the puck and put a backhanded pass to the slot where Nesbitt zipped it past Emond for his sixth and a 4-1 Atlanta margin.
Nesbitt’s score seemed to get the Solar Bears attention and the home team roared back. Forty seconds after Nesbitt’s tally, Orlando answered back. Off of an offensive zone faceoff win by Topping, the puck moved to Luchuk who skated to the slot and put the puck toward the net. It found Kevin Lohan’s stick and he shoveled it on Parks. Parks got almost all of it but it dribbled toward the right post where Topping rammed it in for his second goal of the season.
Sensing a comeback in progress, the fans got loud and the Solar Bears responded. Topping and Jake Transit led a rush up ice, playing a give-and-go game. Driving into the far side faceoff circle, Transit fed Topping who had gone to the end boards. Luchuk settled into the low slot where Topping hit him with a perfect pass and Luchuk did the rest, beating Parks for his 12th to cut the deficit to 4-3.
Unfortunately that was as close as Orlando could get. Although the Solar Bears put four shots on Parks (27 saves) in the first 6:21 of the third period, they found no luck in getting the equalizer. They only recorded two shots on net in the final 13:39 of the frame. Luke Nogard finished off the night with an empty net goal for his third of the year with 36.8 seconds remaing to create the final score.
Orlando’s Emond finished the night with 35 saves on 39 Atlanta shots in suffering the loss.
The Solar Bears, after the break, will return to the Amway Center on Sunday, December 26th for a 7 p.m. faceoff with the Florida Everblades, who will be making their first appearance to the City Beautiful this season.
Notes: Final shots were 40-30 in favor of Atlanta… The Gladiators went 0-for-3 on the power play while the Solar Bears were 1-for-3 with the man advantage… The loss was just Orlando’s second loss of the year on home ice… Boka’s teddy bear goal was the second fastest in Orlando franchise history. Ben Rosen set the mark, scoring 1:03 into the first period of the December 11, 2014 game against Elmira… The previous high for teddy bears came on December 7, 2019 when Tayler Thompson’s goal brought 8,454 stuffed toys onto the ice… Luchuk’s three points gave him his seventh multi-point game of the season… Transit extended his points streak to three games (2 goals, 1 assist). He has a point in all three of his professional games since joining the Solar Bears last week.
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