ORLANDO, FLA – The idea of beating the same opponent three straight times can be and usually is a daunting task, especially in the post season. With the contests coming in a short period of time, it is easy for coaches to make adjustments to fix problems and avoid that third loss. Saturday night at the Amway Center, the Orlando Solar Bears had a chance to buck the odds but all they left with was a much bigger problem.
Casey Pierro-Zabotel scored two goals as the Florida Everblades edged Orlando 5-4 in front of an announced crowd of 7,007. The victory put the Everblades within one win of closing out the best-of-seven series while the Solar Bears now need to win twice on enemy ice to move on the East division finals.
“We raised our compete level and that was the difference,” Florida head coach Greg Poss said. “We finally won puck battles in the corners and that really helped. Then we were able to get the puck to the front of the net and jam the net. That’s how we need to score our goals.”
Earning the 3-2 series lead may have come with a big price tag. Everblades starting goalie Allen York was injured in the game’s final seconds and had to be taken off the ice on a stretcher. The extent of what Poss believed could be a neck injury or a concussion was not immediately known pending tests at a local hospital.
Coming off of two positive performances at home, Orlando too the game to Florida in the early moments of the opening frame. It paid off when Brett Findlay skated off the boards with the puck and lasered a shot past York (19 saves) just 2:29 in.
The Everblades seized the momentum a few minutes later thanks to a power play. With Pierro-Zabotel casting a huge screen on goalie Garret Sparks, Jesse Graham fired a wrist shot from the blueline that made its way into the back of the net to knot the score at one.
Casey Pierro-Zabotel scored twice in Florida’s win on Saturday (photo courtesy of Florida Everblades)
Florida continued its siege on Sparks (40 saves) in the second period, piling up nine shots to Orlando’s one in the first seven minutes. The dam finally broke at the 11:54 mark when Pierro-Zabotel snatched the rebound of an Alex Aleardi shot and zipped a turnaround shot thru traffic and Sparks’ legs to give the Everblades the lead.
The score muted the large crowd but only for two minutes before the Solar Bears regained their mojo. At the 13:55 mark, Ben Rosen got the puck to Ben Johnson in the Florida defensive zone. Johnson made a pretty toe drag move to deke one defender out of the way before moving into the low slot and scoring.
“I thought we were getting a little frustrated with our play. I think as a team we have high expectations for ourselves,” Johnson said about the mood on the bench prior to his goal. “With that goal I tried to create some energy.”
Lit by the spark from Johnson, the Solar Bears regained the lead sixty-two seconds later. Marshall Everson sent the puck from below the goal line to Brady Vail out near the top of the faceoff circle to York’s left. After dragging the puck a bit closer to the slot, Vail unleashed a wicked shot that beat the Florida netminder and nearly blew the roof off the Amway Center.
Undaunted by trailing after two periods, the Everblades once again dug in and pounded away at the Orlando net to start the final period. While Orlando struggled to find any offense, its defense was pushed to the breaking point. It finally broke midway thru the frame when Corey Trivino pulled the puck away from a wild scramble and threaded the needle thru some traffic to beat Sparks and tie the contest. A little over three minutes later, Pierro-Zabotel got loose in front again and tucked a rebound home to put Florida ahead for good.
“We started chasing a little bit. We weren’t managing the puck well all game,” Orlando head coach Vince Williams said. “They (Florida) manage the puck, they’re a possession team. They do a good job of that. We were working harder than we had to and that expends energy and lack of energy ends up turning into what happened in the third period.”
Mike Little scored into an empty net with 49 seconds left to give the Everblades a two goal margin. Then the drama set in when York was knocked back into his net, banging his head on the iron and collapsing onto the ice. After he was taken off, Daniel Altshuller came in and allowed a goal to Johnny McInnis on Orlando’s second shot of the stanza with eight seconds remaining. It was not enough for the Solar Bears as the ensuing faceoff killed off the rest of the time on the clock.
“We didn’t play as desperate as maybe we should have,” McInnis said. “We really had the opportunity to go up a game here. The way we lost it in the third period, we just have to learn not to let off the gas pedal.”
Poss and his Everblades now have two chances at the Germain Arena starting Monday night to send the Solar Bears home for the summer. Although he likes his team’s chances to advance, he knows it will not be easy.
“We did a great job with the way we played in the third but our execution’s got to be better,” he said. “The fourth win is the hardest.”
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