TOLEDO, OH – Right now, there is no hotter goalie in the ECHL than the Orlando Solar Bears’ Maxime Clermont. In his previous two starts, Clermont allowed just one goal but only had one win to show for his efforts. Wednesday night, he put on another brilliant performance but again the hockey gods failed to reward him.
Max Clermont recorded his second straight shutout Wednesday night (File photo courtesy of F. Medina & G. Bassing/Orlando Solar Bears)
Clermont stopped all 25 shots he faced from the high-scoring Toledo Walleye but it was not enough as the Walleye came out with a 1-0 victory in a shootout over the Solar Bears. Orlando (28-21-4-3, 63 points) was able to keep pace with Greenville in the race for the final playoff spot in the ECHL’s East division as the Road Warriors fell to Florida in a shootout.
Clermont’s streak of regulation/overtime play without allowing a score now sits at 179:44 and is sending a notice that both he and Garret Sparks play at the level they have at times this season, Orlando could be in for a deep playoff run. Matched up against Toledo’s Neil Conway, Clermont was once again on his game making save after save. Conway was just as tough at the other end, turning away every shot the Solar Bears sent his way.
Following a relatively defensive opening period (Toledo outshot Orlando 9-6 in the frame), the offenses opened up in the second. The Solar Bears were able to get more chances, coming close on several occasions but just not finding the back of the net. Conway faced 17 shots and made every save to keep his team in the scoreless tie. Clermont matched his save total from the first period to send the game to the third still waiting for the first goal of the night.
Orlando’s defense clamped down on the Walleye (37-13-3-2, 79 points), allowing Toledo just four shots in the final twenty minutes. Down the other end, Conway – who finished the night with 34 saves – again frustrated the visitors by knocking away all ten that came his way while several others either missed the net or failed to connect with stick blades.
After a scoreless overtime frame, the game went to a shootout. Toledo took the early lead when Shane Berschbach beat Clermont in the first round. Orlando’s Patrick Watling evened the score in round three but seconds later Tyler Barnes lit the goal light for what would be the game-winning shot. Conway then stopped Brock Montgomery and Peter Sivak to give his team the victory and the extra point in the standings.
Orlando has Thursday off before stopping in Cincinnati to face the Cyclones on Friday night.
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