ORLANDO, FLA – Since October of 2011 when the ECHL made the announcement of a new franchise for the state of Florida, the staffs and fans of the Orlando Solar Bears and the Florida Everblades have been building an in-state rivalry With roughly 200 mils of interstate highway between Orlando and Estero, it was hoped that eventually it would become as intense as some of the legendary rivalries of the past in the South.
Starting Friday night at the Germain Arena, the battle for supremacy in the Sunshine State will take the next step when the East division’s fourth-seeded Solar Bears and the top-seeded Everblades meet in their first ever playoff series. If past history is any indicator, this could be one of the most entertaining matchups in the Kelly Cup playoffs.
The History: The Everblades may have been a supportive big brother when Orlando’s ownership was bidding for a franchise but all of that ended when the two teams hit the ice. With two preseason games added to the schedule every year, Florida and Orlando meet anywhere from 16 to 18 times per season – plenty of time to build a healthy hatred.
Orlando’s inaugural season in 2012-2013 saw a pretty even split of the 16 regular season contests. The Solar Bears first of seven wins came in their home opener – an epic shootout that took twelve rounds to decide the victor. Overall, Orlando went 7-8-1-0 against the then-defending Kelly Cup champion Everblades (for technical purposes, Florida’s record against the Solar Bears was 9-4-1-2).
The 2013-2014 campaign was even better for the second year franchise representing the City Beautiful. Orlando won eight of the fourteen meetings (one in overtime and two in shootouts) while the Everblades recorded six wins, all of them coming in regulation time.
The 2014-2015 Season: Only two teams (Toledo and Allen) were better than Florida was in 2014-2015. The Everblades amassed a 49-16-2-5 record and 105 points to run away with the East division. Orlando (37-25-6-4, 84 points) needed a 1-0 win over Florida in its final home game to lock down the final playoff spot and a date with the Everblades.
The season series, from an Orlando perspective, was a mixed bag. The Solar Bears won three times in Estero but lost four in regulation and one in a shootout. At the Amway Center, the visiting Everblades won five times including one in overtime while Orlando won just twice on home ice.
Featured Performers: Forward Jake Cepis led Orlando both against Florida and the rest of the league. Cepis score six of his 15 goals and eleven of his 41 assists against the Everblades. His 56 points were tops on a roster that was plundered by callups (Greg Miller, Denver Manderson and just this week Peter Sivak) and a serious injury that sidelined Mickey Lang. Former Everblade Johnny McInnis (16-31-47), Toronto Maple Leafs prospect Brett Findlay (18-23-41) and Brock Montgomery (13-24-37) all chipped in as head coach Vince Williams needed a team approach on offense.
Bryce Aneloski (9-18-27) was tops when it came to producing points from the blueline followed by Eric Baier (9-12-21). The two best plus/minus performers also came from the defensive corps as Carl Nielsen (plus-19) and Leafs prospect Eric Knodel (plus-16) led the team.
Adam Brace led Florida overall with 35 goals and 37 assists for 72 points and a plus-29 rating, including 11 helpers and 16 total points against Orlando. Brant Harris notched seven of his 16 goals versus the Solar Bears to lead the Everblades. Mitch Wahl (15-44-59), Alex Lavoie (21-36-57) and late season acquisition Casey Pierro-Zabotel (23-41-64) all can put points up in a hurry.
Even the defense was instant offense for the Everblades. Mike Little (13-41-54) and Cameron Burt (6-41-47) led a talented blueline group that was well over a plus-100 as a unit. Little (plus-46) and Burt (plus-35) led that stat but with Burt injured and not on the roster, players like Jordan Henry (plus-14) will see plenty of minutes.
The Goalies: Goaltending has been a revolving door for the Everblades all season as no less than six different netminders have hit the roster. Allen York saw the bulk of the action against the Solar Bears, posting a 6-3-1 record with a 2.58 goals against average versus Orlando. Overall, the Tampa Bay Lightning prospect went 17-5-0-3 with a 2.63 goals against average, a .903 save percentage and had four four shutouts. Daniel Altshuller (8-3-1-0, 3.21, .881) will most likely be the backup with Matt Ginn (5-1-0-1, 2.12, .932, 1 shutout) waiting in the wings in case of an emergency.
Orlando’s netminding chores will rest mostly on the shoulders of Toronto prospect Garret Sparks. Sparks went 21-7-2-1 with a 2.34 goals against average in 2014-2015. He led the ECHL with a .936 save percentage and his five shutouts were second only to South Carolina’s Jeff Jakaitis who had seven. In three appearances against the Everblades, Sparks had a 1-0 record with a 0.69 goals against and the playoff-clinching shutout a week ago.
Sparks’ backup will be New Jersey farmhand Maxime Clermont. Clermont posted a 9-7-2-2 record with a 3.11 goals against average, a .857 save percentage and two shutouts. He went 1-2 in four appearances against Florida.
Special Teams:Â The Everblades were a solid 19.2 percent with the man advantage during the regular season. They were just slightly less effective against Orlando, connecting 15.8 percent of the time (nine goals). Orlando struggled at times on the power play, finishing the regular season with a 17.4 percent success rate. In the head-to-head meetings, the Solar Bears scored just four goals – two of them in the final game of the season – to get to 8.2 percent.
The penalty killing was much more of an even stat as Orlando killed off 83.8 percent of opposition power plays to Florida’s 82.5 percent kill rate. When the teams met, the Everblades killed penalties at a 91.8 percent rate while Orlando was successful 84.2 percent of the time.
Since neither team is intimidate by the other, the strategies for both are simple. Whichever team can influence the games with their style of play – Florida’s high octane run and gun or Orlando’s controlled defense an opportunistic scoring – will rule the day.
Beyond that, Orlando needs to reclaim its mastery of its own home ice. The Solar Bears averaged 2.42 goals per game against Florida at home while the Everblades averaged 3.71 goals. The teams scored evenly at the Germain Arena so if Sparks can steal game one or game two (or both) – which he is more than capable of doing – Orlando has to win at least two at home to make a series of it.
The Everblades have shown they can win defensive battles just as well as they can win high scoring affairs. On paper at least, Florida has more weapons that are firing on all cylinders at the moment. If that trend continues, York is good enough to make enough key saves that will lead to wins.
How this series will go is anyone’s guess – which is appropriate given the rivalry. What is clear is that if these two teams play to their levels of talent and passion, the fans and the ECHL will all be winners no matter which side comes out on top.
Follow us on Twitter @prohockeynews
You must be logged in to post a comment.