ESTERO, FLA – Expectations for a tense, hard-fought first ever playoff game between the Orlando Solar Bears and the Florida Everblades were high prior to the opening faceoff. For the 2,659 who bought tickets at the Germain Arena, they got all that and more.
Nicolas Deschamps scored two goals and Allen York shut down the Solar Bears for the final 54:30 of play as the East division top seeded Everblades were able to come away with a 3-2 victory. Florida will carry a 1-0 series lead into game two of the best-of-seven series Saturday night.
Orlando’s strategy of coming out hard and dictating play worked for a good portion of the first period but it was the host Everblades who got on the scoreboard first. An attempt by the Solar Bears to clear their defensive zone hit some traffic at the blue line and stayed in. Florida defenseman Mike Little was able to direct the puck toward the slot where Deschamps fired a quick shot past Orlando goalie Garret Sparks at the 3:11 mark.
The visitors were not intimidated and answered back quickly. A mere 17 seconds after the Florida score, defenseman Eric Knodel sent the puck in the direction of Orlando’s leading scorer Jake Cepis. Using his speed, Cepis flew down the wing and turned past a defender on his way to the slot. Once there, Cepis fired and beat York to even the score.
Cepis and the Solar Bears were not done quite yet. Two minutes later, some pressure in the Everblades end led to the puck being on the blade of Brad Ross. Ross fed it to Brett Findlay who looked up and saw Cepis hashmark high between the circles. Findlay threaded the needle and Cepis did the rest, notching his second goal of the frame with a wrist shot that found the back of the net.
Florida’s high-powered offense, which had been slow to put shots on Sparks, found some rhythm late in the period when Orlando’s Brady Vail went to the penalty box for four minutes for high sticking. The power play allowed the Everblades to run their shot total to 15 in the frame but Sparks kept them off the board to send his team to the intermission in the lead.
The Solar Bears again seemed to have things going in their direction in the second. They kept Florida from getting many opportunities from in close and when that did happen, Sparks was on his game turning the shots away. That was until the 13:27 mark when Corey Trivino, who had just been reassigned to Florida by the AHL’s Portland Pirate, set up Steven Whitney for a one-timer that beat Sparks just inside the left post to knot the score at 2-2.
Now with the momentum on its side, Florida went on its fifth man advantage of the game and this time the Everblades were not to be denied. With time winding down, Jordan Henry lined up one of his heavy shots from the blueline. Deschamps went to the front of the net to create a screen and was rewarded when he redirected the drive into the back of the net to put his team ahead for good.
Playing with some desperation, Orlando again pushed the tempo in the third in hopes of finding the game-tying score. Florida seemed more than content to support York, who was in the process of spinning a solid effort, and gave the Tampa Bay Lightning prospect good looks at the shots the Solar Bears threw at him. Midway through the period, York stared down the barrel of an odd-man rush and robbed Findlay on a point blank shot. Orlando outshot Florida 9-4 in the frame but with York stopping everything in sight, the visitors were left lamenting their fate and missed chances.
York finished the game with 25 saves to pick up the win while Sparks stopped 30 in suffering the loss. The Everblades finished the night going 1-for-5 on the power play while the Solar Bears went 0-for-2.
Game two of the divisional semifinal series is set for Saturday night at the German Arena starting at 7 p.m. The teams will then head north to Orlando for game three on Tuesday.
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