ESTERO, FLA – Sitting in sixth place in the ECHL’s East division and trailing the Florida Everblades by 16 points, the Orlando Solar Bears could not afford to lose another game to their in-state nemesis. Saturday night it took having all hands on deck – including a set not expected to play a role – to get a much needed victory.
Behind a pair of goals from both Brett Findlay and Jake Cepis, the Solar Bears edged the Everblades 5-4 in a shootout. Findlay and Denver Manderson both lit the goal light in the shootout to provide the margin of victory. With the win, Orlando gained a point on Florida but more importantly stayed within five points of the fourth playoff spot in the division.
The offensive outburst might have been in vain had it not been for the unexpected hero, backup goalie Sean Bonar. Acquired in a trade with the Indy Fuel in late December, Bonar was pressed into duty when starting netminder Kent Patterson appeared to suffer an injury in the first period. Bonar came on and stopped 38 of 40 shots through overtime and then stoned all four Everblades chances in the shootout.
When Bonar, who had been a backup for the Solar Bears at the end of last season, entered the game, Orlando (16-14-3-0, 35 points) was down by two. Patterson (9 saves on 11 shots) had tried to tough it out after a collision with Florida’s Evan Bloodoff earlier in the opening frame but when Alex Lavoie and Brant Harris scored 33 seconds apart midway through, Solar Bears head coach Vince Williams pulled his netminder in favor of Bonar.
The line of Cepis, Findlay and Mike Ullrich got the Solar Bears on the board at the 13:12 mark with a perfect tic-tac-toe passing play that ended with Findlay beating Everblades goalie Allen York with a shot from the right side. It would prove to be just the beginning of a big night for the line.
Less than two minutes into the middle stanza, Orlando evened things up. The sequence started seconds after Bonar made a pretty glove save on John McInnis. Again it was the big line that clicked when Findlay, who had just missed on a mini-break, set up Cepis for his fifth goal of the season. The tie lasted all of four minutes before Rob Florentino made a perfect stretch pass to Harris who broke away and beat Bonar to put the Everblades (24-5-0-2, 50 points) back in front.
Thanks to the work of Bonar, the visitors were still in the game when the third period started. It took only 1:13 for the Solar Bears to pull even again when Blake Kessel made a good read to break up an Everblades attempt to clear the puck out of their defensive zone. The puck floated to Findlay who created some room for himself and beat York (24 saves) for his eighth goal in an Orlando uniform. Again the Everblades had an answer, this time in the form of Tyson Gimblett who took a pass from Jeff Silengo and scored just his second of the season at the 2:50 mark.
As time wound on, the Everblades seemed to be gaining more and more control of the game. Finally with 4:39 left in regulation, Orlando found a way to tie the score for the third time. The play started with Yann Sauve sending the puck to Cepis in the neutral zone. With a burst of speed, Cepis was able to turn past a defenseman and cut for the front of the net. Once there, Cepis tucked a backhander past York for his second of the night.
The score stayed tied into and through the five minute overtime period, setting up the best-of-five penalty shot round. Findlay and Manderson quickly scored to put the Solar Bears up by two through two rounds. Bonar then stopped Adan Brace in round three and Mitch Wahl in round four to seal the victory and earn the extra point in the standings.
Orlando now has a few days off before hosting the Tulsa Oilers on Saturday and then welcoming the league to the City Beautiful for the CCM/ECHL All-Star Classic on January 21st at the Amway Center.
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