ORLANDO, FLA – In team sports, the chemistry between teammates can be a blessing to or the downfall of a squad depending on the coaching staff finding the right combination. Tuesday night at the Amway Center, Orlando Solar Bears head coach Drake Berehowsky proved that sometimes listening is just as effective as figuring it out yourself.
Joe Perrynetted Orlando’s second hat trick of the season Tuesday night (Photo courtesy of G. Bassing & F. Medina / Orlando Solar Bears)
Joe Perry notched his first hat trick as a member of the Solar Bears while linemates Brett Findlay and Denver Manderson each collected four points as the Solar Bears (7-5-2-0, 16 points) cruised past the Missouri Mavericks (6-8-0-1, 13 points) 7-2 in front of an announced crowd of 3,905. Austin Block, playing in his first game of the season, also chipped in with two goals as Orlando matched its season high for goals scored in a home game to earn the home team a split of the two-game series.
“I can’t take all the credit for it. Snowy (assistant coach John Snowden) kind of suggested it and we rolled with it. He’s a great assistant coach. He’s got a heartbeat on the team,” Berehowsky said about how the decision to put the three players together came about. “They seem like they’ve got a really good chemistry. They’re working hard though. They’re getting in on the forecheck, they’re cycling well, they’re using their bodies to protect pucks and they’re going to the hard areas and they’re getting rewarded for it.”
The game itself could have easily had a different outcome. Coming out of the locker room for the first period, the Mavericks were in stampede mode as they peppered Orlando goalie Ryan Massa with three early shots in the first minute of play. Massa made all three saves, giving his team a shot of confidence.
That confidence could have been shaken when Rocco Carzo redirected a shot by Ryan Obuchowski past Massa during a Missouri power play for his fourth of the year at the 5:45 mark. The score came on the Mavericks seventh shot on net.
The Carzo tally seemed to be the wake-up call that the Solar Bears needed. It took them just 39 seconds to respond when Findlay fired a shot that Manderson tipped in on Missouri netminder Josh Robinson. Robinson made the save but the rebound went straight to Perry who shoved it across the goal line for his sixth of the season.
Just under eight minutes later, the line was at it again. This time Manderson gained control of the puck below the goal line and fired a pass to Findlay in the slot. Findlay fired a shot that went in and came out of the net so quick that referee Jason Faist had to consult with the goal judge to confirm that it had indeed gone in. Robinson did not like the call and he let both the referee and the goal judge know it but Findlay had his fifth and the Solar Bears were in front for good.
“It was huge,” Berehowsky said about the quick response by his team. “I think the guys have showed great resilience and they go out and they play that way.”
If Berehowsky liked his team’s resilience in the first, he had to be downright giddy with their play in the second period. Showing that Monday night’s lesson about finding killer instinct had been comprehended totally, the Solar Bears went to work on putting the Mavericks away for good.
It all started at the 2:30 mark when Perry redirected a shot by Jon Jutzi for his second of the game and seventh of the season. Two minutes later, Taylor Doherty took a feed from Mason Marchment and fired at the net where Block was waiting to tip it past Robinson for his first goal of the season. For Doherty and Marchment, the assists were their first points as members of the Solar Bears.
When Block went to the penalty box for delay of game at the 10:48 mark, it was the perfect opportunity for Missouri to get back into the game but Orlando’s aggressive penalty killers went on the attack. Eric Faille went to the end boards and took the puck away from a defender before zipping a pass out to the slot where Findlay was all alone. Instead of shooting, Findlay drew Robinson to him before sliding the puck back to Faille who had an easy tap-in at the near post for his fifth and a short-handed tally that pushed the lead to 5-1.
While all the scoring was happening, Massa was not seeing much of the puck. Between the Orlando offesne and a suffocating defense, the Mavericks failed to put the disc on net until there were just over five minutes remaining in the middle frame.
Perry completed his second ECHL hat trick in as many seasons at the 15:33 mark when Findlay stole the puck and fired a pass to Perry who found the back of the net for his fifth goal in three games. When the final buzzer of the period sounded, the Solar Bears had four goals, an 18-6 advantage in shots in the frame and a commanding 6-1 lead.
“We were just relentless [in the period]. We got the puck, we got it in [to the offensive zone], we forechecked, we finished checks, we went to the net and we scored dirty goals,” Findlay said about the second period barrage. “That’s exactly what the game plan was.”
Missouri head coach John-Scott Dickson removed Robinson and replaced him with Ville Husso at the start of the third period, hoping to light a fire under his team. The Mavericks did respond, getting a goal from Dan Correale on a one-time shot off a Shawn Pauly pass 43 seconds into the frame to chip the lead to 6-2.
Block, who was activated off the injured reserve list Tuesday afternoon and replaced Cason Hohmann in the lineup, completed the scoring when he tipped a shot from Johnny McInnis past Husso with just under five minutes remaining for his second of the night.
As a trio, Perry, Findlay and Manderson accounted for eleven points in the contest. In the time that they have been playing together – which just happens to be the three games the Solar Bears have played since Berehowsky replaced Anthony Noreen behind the bench – the line has posted nine goals and twelve assists for 21 points.
Asked about how much fun it is to play so well alongside two other players, Perry summed it up in one word: chemistry.
“It seems that since coach put us together, we’ve kind of found this chemistry,” Perry said. “I think it’s a good mix of skill and grit and passing and shooting. We’ve been able to put up points and hopefully we can start putting up more wins consecutively.”
Notes: Massa finished the game with 24 saves to earn his fifth win of the season while Robinson took the loss while making 23 saves in two periods of play. Husso made 20 saves in the third period…Findlay’s goal moved him into a tie with C.J. Severyn for second place on the ECHL Solar Bears goal scoring list with 33. He is just two goals behind Jake Cepis and Brady Vail who share the top spot with 35… Manderson extended his games with a point streak to eight with his four assists. Over that span, he has five goals and eleven assists including three straight games with at least three points… Orlando hit the 50-shot mark for the third straight game under Berehowsky and the fifth time overall this season… The Solar Bears begin a three-game series with the Brampton Beast Thanksgiving morning with a special 11 am start time.
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