ESTERO, FLA – Ever since they joined the ECHL, the Orlando Solar Bears have had a tough time beating their bitter in-state rivals, the Florida Everblades. For some reason, the Everblades have been able to do what it takes to get inside the heads of the Solar Bears, turning what look to be losses into come from behind wins.
Wednesday night at Hertz Arena, Orlando wanted to flip the script but once again the boys from Central Florida failed to find a full sixty minutes of play that would lead them to a win.
Led by two point nights from Cam Maclise and Logan Roe, the host Everblades (8-4-0-0) scored five unanswered goals over the final two periods to crush the Solar Bears 5-1 in front of an announced crowd of 4,456. Cody Donaghey scored the lone goal for Orlando (3-6-1-1) as the Solar Bears lost their fourth straight game against Florida.
Orlando goalie Clint Windsor, coming off winning the ECHL’s Goalie of the Week honors for his play last week, made 32 saves – his fourth consecutive start with more than 30 stops – but he was not able to save his teammates on Wednesday.
The opening period of the rivals’ third meeting in the space of a week was marred by clock issues that extended the time it took to complete the frame to almost an hour. Prior to the first time the electronics malfunctioned, the Everblades controlled the early play as the home team rolled up a 6-2 shot advantage within the first five minutes.
Once the Solar Bears warmed up their bus legs, they began to push back against Florida and its starting goalie, Ken Appleby. Orlando showed some promise during an early power play, moving the puck and finding some shooting lanes but Appleby was equal to the challenge.
With Windsor again holding down the fort, the Solar Bears got a second chance at a man advantage late in the stanza when Florida’s Hunter Garlent was tagged for a double minor for high sticking. It took the visitors less than a minute to find the back of the net when Donaghey took a feed from Mike Monfredo and wired a high, hard shot over Appleby’s shoulder for the blueliner’s second goal of the season and first power play goal of the campaign.
Despite being outshot in the first by a count of 13-9, Orlando had to feel good about taking the ice to start the middle frame with a lead. The Solar Bears had an immediate chance to boost the margin when Florida’s Blake Winiecki went to the penalty box but they failed to capitalize.
The early penalty kill seemed to brighten the Everblades right up and they wasted little time in tying the score. Just 35 seconds after Winiecki left the sin bin, he utilized a heavy screen in front of Windsor to blister a shot past the Orlando netminder for his sixth goal of the season at the 3:40 mark.
The Solar Bears came close to going back in front when Tyler Bird wristed the puck at the Florida net and beat Appleby but the disc clanged off the crossbar. That near miss would come back to haunt the visitors as a penalty to Monfredo a minute later led to the second Everblades goal of the night.
With Monfredo just about to step back on the ice, Alex Tonge fed Michael Downing in the high slot. Once again Windsor had his vision obstructed and Downing’s shot found the back of the net for the defenseman’s second of the year and a 2-1 lead for the home team.
As the period wound down, it looked like the Solar Bears would only be down by one heading to the third but a defensive lapse turned into a disaster. Maclise forced a turnover behind the Orlando net and gained control of the puck. He wasted no time in sending a pass to the front where Michael Huntebrinker buried it behind Windsor for his sixth of the season and a 3-1 Everblades lead after two.
Up by two, Florida went for the kill, registering nine of the first eleven shots in the final twenty minutes but Windsor gave the Solar Bears some hope by turning away all of them.
Orlando’s building frustration boiled over at the 7:16 mark of the period when after Appleby covered the puck, a rather large scrum developed behind the Everblades’ net. It nearly became a line brawl when Appleby and the Solar Bears’ Colby McAuley collided and the two squared off but the officials got things quieted down.
The Solar Bears were able to create some offense in the back half of the period but Appleby (23 saves) was steady and kept the visitors at bay. With a little over two minutes remaining, Orlando Head Coach and General Manager Drake Berehowsky pulled Windsor in favor of an extra attacker. That move was countered soon after when Roe got control of the puck in the neutral zone and scored into the vacated net with 1:31 left for his third of the season.
Twenty-three seconds after Roe’s tally, Maclise put a bow on the night when he found the back of the net from the slot for his second to create the final score.
The two teams will complete their four-game mini-series Thursday night back in Orlando at the Amway Center. Puck drop is set for 7 p.m.
Notes: Final shots were 37-24 in favor of Florida… The Solar Bears went 1-for-6 on the power play while the Everblades finished 0-for-5. With the perfect night on the penalty kill, Orlando extended its consecutive games without allowing a power play goal streak to eight games, killing off 30 straight penalties over that time… The Solar Bears’ Monfredo played in his 150th game with the team. He is now third on the franchise’s all-time list, trailing only Scott Tanski (152) and Eric Baier (236)… With his assist on Donaghey’s goal, Monfredo pulled even with Blake Kessel for second most assists by a Solar Bears defenseman at 39… Florida’s Winiecki continued to be a Solar Bear killer as his goal was his third of the year against Orlando to go along with two assist for five points in five games… Everblades forward John McCarron picked up an assist to push his point streak to seven games… The Solar Bears welcomed back goalie Zach Fucale, who had been on a call-up to AHL Syracuse and was loaned back to Orlando… Newcomer Jake Coughler, who was signed by the Solar Bears on Monday, saw his first game action Wednesday night.
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