ORLANDO, FLA – Since his brother Nick won a Kelly Cup a season ago with the Fort Wayne Komets, Orlando Solar Bears rookie forward Luke Boka knew coming into the 2021-22 ECHL season that he had a goal to shoot for. So far through 28 game in O-Town, the younger Boka is proving himself to be just as good and valuable as his older sibling.
Boka scored two goals, including the game-tying tally late in the third period and the game-winner 1:11 into overtime to help the Solar Bears (15-12-1-0) to a thrilling 5-4 New Year’s Eve day victory over the South Carolina Stingrays (9-14-3-0) in front of an announced crowd of 5,181 at the Amway Center. Boka also had an assist in the contest, leading a list of five Orlando skaters with at least two points in the game.
Goalie Brad Barone, playing in his second game in three days since returning to the lineup, had another solid performance between the pipes with 30 saves. It was the ninth time Barone has stopped 30 or more saves in a game this season.
Boka’s game-winner was a lesson in patience. Luke McInnis (goal, 2 assists) made a pass through the neutral zone to Jake Transit. Transit calmly carried the puck into South Carolina end and started to curl toward the high slot at the top of the faceoff circle to the left of Stingrays goalie Cedrick Andree. The curl opened a passing lane to Boka who was streaking through the other circle. Although Transit’s pass was a bit behind him, Boka reached back to get control and with the added torque added to his stick, ripped a shot past Andree to end the game.
The play that created the winner was much different than Boka’s tally that evened the score. That one was a workingman’s goal as a shot by McInnis from the point hit Ian Parker and dropped to the ice. Boka, who had headed toward the slot in case of a long rebound, was there to collect the puck and scorched a shot into the back of the net with 2:35 remaining to tie things at 3-3.
The final score was certainly not an indication of how the noontime contest began. Barone and Andree had things well under control until the final six minutes of the first period. At the 14:44 mark, the Solar Bears opened the scoring. The sequence began with Boka flipping a pass off the boards out to Dylan Fitze in the center ice zone. Parker hustled up to create a two-on-one with Fitze into the Stingrays defensive zone. Using Parker as a decoy, Fitze got to the faceoff dot and wired the puck to the far side corner of the cage for his first of the season.
South Carolina answered back in the final minute of the frame. Jake Coleman worked the puck off the side boards in the Orlando end and got it to Andrew Cherniwchan. Cherniwchan proceeded to send it off the Ben Holmstrom who was cruising down the slot. Holmstrom waited for Barone to commit before trying to feed Cherniwchan at the far side post. The puck never got there, instead hitting Solar Bears defenseman Nolan Valleau and careening over the goal line for Holmstrom’s first and a 1-1 tie after one.
Feeling good about their position heading to the second stanza, the Stingrays took the lead with a pair of tallies 55 seconds apart. The first, coming at the 5:40 mark, some sustained pressure led to Holmstrom carrying the puck behind the Orlando net and feeing Bryce Martin who was open in the circle to Barone’s left. With traffic in front, Martin squeaked a shot between Barone’s legs for his first of the year. South Carolina continued to hound the Solar Bears, which led to Lawton Courtnall going around the cage and hooking a wraparound into the net for his seventh and a 3-1 South Carolina lead.
The Solar Bears needed to find some momentum before the period ended and found it on the power play. A penalty on the visitors with five minutes remaining allowed Orlando to set up in the Stingrays end. They worked the puck around the top of the umbrella from Tristin Langan to Valleau to Hunter Fejes, who had room to close toward the net. From the top of the circle to Andree’s right, Fejes sent a hard wrister on net that hit paydirt for his third of the season with all three coming on special teams (2 short-handed and 1 power play). The goal closed the gap to 3-2 where it stood after 40 minutes of play.
Seven minutes into the third, the Stingrays converted for a man advantage score of their own. Taking just 18 seconds after the offensive zone draw, the Stingrays worked the puck around to Connor Moore who fired from just inside the blue line. Justin Florek was parked on the doorstep and redirected the puck over Barone for his ninth goal of the year and restoring the two-goal margin. Holmstrom picked up his second assist and third point of the afternoon with the secondary helper.
With the clock heading down toward the final five minutes, Orlando needed a spark and for the second game in a row, Fejes was the pilot light. Coming down the side boards with the puck, Fejes made a sharp cut toward the slot while leaving three defenders in his wake. McInnis, meanwhile, had come down to the base of the circle where he took the feed from Fejes and nailed a one-timer home for his fourth to make it a 4-3 game.
McInnis’ score was just the jump start the Solar Bears needed as two minutes and 28 seconds later, Boka evened the score before he finished the comeback in the extra period.
Andree finished the contest with 30 saves on 35 shots faced in suffering the loss.
The Solar Bears headed out after the game for a New Year’s night matchup with the Greenville Swamp Rabbits. Puck drop at the Bon Secours Wellness Arena is set for 7 p.m.
Notes: Final shots were 35-34 in favor of Orlando… The Stingrays were 1-for-3 on the power play while the Solar Bears went 1-for-1… Langan’s two assists put his career points total to 112 (43 goals, 69 assists) in a Solar Bears jersey. It allowed him to pass Eric Baier for fourth and climb into a tie with Jake Cepis for third place on the franchise’s all-time points list… Fitze played in his 100th career professional game in the contest, all but two of them coming in Orlando.
Contact the author at don.money@prohockeynews.com
Follow us on Twitter @prohockeynews
You must be logged in to post a comment.