DULUTH, GA – With less than a minute to go and the outcome well in hand, Orlando Solar Bears goalie Mackenzie Skapski watched as Atlanta Gladiators forward Lindsay Sparks bore down on him on a clean breakaway. Sparks drove in and tried to deke the netminder to open up a space but the Solar Bears cager was in no mood to take the bait, making a save.
There was simply no way that Skapski was going to see anything ruin his perfect night.
The save on Sparks was the last of 31 Skapski made to record his second shutout of the season as the Solar Bears (20-20-5-1, 46 points) blanked the Gladiators (24-23-1-0, 49 points) 6-0 in front of an announced crowd of 10,052 at the Infinite Energy Arena Saturday night. Josh Winquist led the scoring attack with two goals while J.J. Piccinich, Kristian Pospisil and Mike Monfredo all recorded three-point nights for the visitors.
With another cobbled together lineup thanks to a suspension and continued illness, the Solar Bears were ready to repeat last Sunday’s victory over Atlanta. Like it was then, Orlando got out to a good start by opening the scoring early in the first period. The goal, which came at the 3:44 mark, came off the stick of Winquist who one-timed a pass from Jeff King off the post and had the rebound carom off a defender into the net for his 16th of the year.
The Solar Bears doubled their lead later in the frame when during a power play, Atlanta goalie Sean Bonar coughed up the puck to Pospisil who fed Max Novak who lasered a shot into the top corner. For Novak, the goal at the 14:25 mark was his 13th of the season.
In between the scores, Skapski was rock solid between the pipes. Even a collision with Gladiators forward Colin Jacobs did not rattle the Orlando netminder, who was looking to bounce back from a loss to South Carolina the night before.
Orlando was feeling its oats as the second period began and it did not take long for the Solar Bears to increase the margin. Just 1:39 in, Winquist fired a shot into traffic that bounced off Atlanta defenseman Taylor Doherty and into the back of the net for the St. Albert, Alberta native’s second score of the night and 17th of the season. It also ended that part of the evening for Bonar who, for the seconds time in as many starts against Orlando, was pulled in favor of Dan Vladar.
Skapski was still perfect through the midpoint of the stanza, with his best save coming on a breakaway by Atlanta sniper Phil Lane. Playing off the confidence of its backstop, the Solar Bears power play again connected when at the 15:43 mark, Hunter Fejes banked the puck off a skate in the low slot and in for his 22nd of the season and sixth with Orlando.
Leading 4-0 heading into the third, the Solar Bears remembered how the Gladiators made last Sunday very uncomfortable with a third period rally that came up just short. With that in mind, the man advantage units kicked in again as Monfredo (three assists) set up Piccinich for his ninth of the year and a commanding 5-0 lead.
The final nail in the Gladiators coffin came a mere 44 seconds later. It was a beautiful passing play with perfect drop passes by Novak and Chris Crane leading to Martins Dzierkals ringing a shot off the inside of the right post and in for his 10th of the year and a six-goal cushion. Dzierkals’ tally caused Atlanta head coach Chuck Weber to pull Vladar (7 saves) and reinsert Bonar (24 saves) to finish the game.
Orlando continued to press for more goals, pinning the Gladiators in their end for good stretches. Even when Atlanta had 1:03 of two-man advantage time, the Solar Bears and Skapski held the fort with relative ease.
With just over two minutes left, Monfredo and Atlanta’s Tanner Pond dropped the gloves at center ice. Both players threw some big shots but it appeared that Monfredo may have won the bout on points, a fitting way to cap a big night for the veteran defender. All that was left was to get Skapski the shutout, which with the way the netminder from Abbortsford, BC was focused in, was a pretty easy task as the former Solar Bear Sparks can attest to.
Notes: Orlando outshot Atlanta in the game by a final count of 37-31… The Solar Bears power play came to life, scoring on three of their six chances while the Gladiators went 0-for-3… With defenseman Sam Jardine still being ill and Aleksandr Mikulovich serving a one-game suspension for a hit last Sunday, Orlando called up Brandon Pfeil from the SPHL’s Macon Mayhem to fill in. The Solar Bears alsoused forward Kyle Rankin on the blue line for the second straight contest… Skapski’s other shutout this year came on January 6th against Jacksonville… Winquist’s game-winning goal was his fourth of the season… Fejus extende his point streak to three games while Dzierkals also pushed his current point run to three games… Pospisil’s three-point game was his second of the season… The Solar Bears return home on Wednesday to beging a long homestand with another meeting with the Florida Everblades. Game time at the Amway Center is set for 7 p.m.
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