ORLANDO, FLA – For the last week, all of the talk surrounding the Orlando Solar Bears – South Carolina Stingrays South division semifinal series has been about Solar Bears netminder Cal Heeter and rightfully so. In the first two games, Heeter began writing an epic tale by stopping all but one shot in helping Orlando take two games in North Charleston before heading home. Along the way, forward Hunter Fejes had inserted his name into the conversation with a game-winning shorthanded goal in game one.
Orlando’s Hunter Fejes (right) celebrates his game-winning goal with teammate Nolan Valleau Thursday night (Photo courtesy of Fernando Medina / Orlando Solar Bears)
Thursday night at the Amway Center in game 3, Fejes and Heeter both added new chapters to their stories while Orlando took a step closer to rewriting its own franchise history.
Heeter continued his other-worldly play with 49 saves and Fejes turned another solo rush into a game-winning short-handed tally as the Solar Bears edged South Carolina 2-1 in overtime in front of an announced crowd of 6,899. With the victory, Orlando took a three games to none lead in the best-of-seven series and can move on to the second round with a win in game 4 on Saturday.
Fejes’ second man-down goal, coming with 2:31 left in the first extra period, was a summation of the entire series for the Solar Bears. It started with a key shot block by veteran defenseman Sean Zimmerman and a push pass by Joe Perry that sent the speedy Fejes on his way. Fejes turned on the jets at center ice to beat a South Carolina forward trying to play defense. Once in alone, Fejes cut to the net and beat Stingrays goalie Parker Milner low to the stick side, setting off a wild celebration on the ice amid the deafening roar coming from the stands.
“That was our second penalty kill of the overtime and we knew we had to put up a gutsy effort. We lost the draw to begin with and it was a huge block by Zimmerman our captain. It would have been a very close call if that puck wasn’t blocked,” Fejes said when asked what he recalled about his game-winner. “It kind of went up in the air and Joe [Perry] kind of just tapped it to me and I tried to just give it all I got. I kind of just put on the after burners [because] I knew that guy was, I was pretty sure he was a forward playing defense there. I always practice that move where I slip it under the stick and it just happened to go in there. I shot it low blocker and that’s all she wrote.”
Fejes’ heroics would not have been possible if not for yet another mind-blowing performance by Heeter between the pipes. Heading into game three, Heeter had stopped 59 of 60 shots but even he could not have imagined what transpired on Thusday.
From the opening puck drop, the Stingrays were all over the Solar Bears defense and net in an effort to change their fortunes. The pressure helped to create a pair of power play situations that allowed South Carolina to put ten shots on Heeter and an eleventh by Jonathan Charbonneau that rang off the goal post in the first eleven minutes of play.
South Carolina came very close to scoring with 1:09 to go before the intermission when Nick Roberto managed to get the puck behind Heeter. As it slid toward the goal line, Orlando defenseman Alex Gudbranson dove into the crease and with his hand swept the puck away from the net and danger.It was the second time in as many games that Gudbranson had come to his goalie’s aid at just the right time.
Solar Bears goalie Cal Heeter (right) defends his net against South Carolina’s Nick Roberto during Thursday’s game (Photo courtesy of Fernando Medina / Orlando Solar Bears)
“Maybe I’ll give him part of my next paycheck,” Heeter joked before getting serious. “It’s been incredible. Top to bottom, the defense no matter who’s in on what night, we’ve been fantastic – Gudbranson especially – but everyone’s been incredible. Blocking shots, bailing out me when I need it when pucks sneak behind me. Clearing rebounds when I give up bad ones to the slot. The guys have been great especially in the playoffs limiting their second and third chances. They’ve been really dialed in and finding a good rhythm here. We’re all working together.”
Tied up trying to play defense, the Solar Bears created no pressure on Milner at the other end of the ice. It took until the final minute of the first period for Orlando to record a shot on net – credited to Zimmerman – which drew a relieved response from the home crowd. By the time the buzzer went off, the Stingrays had built a 21-3 shot advantage but the scoreboard still read 0-0.
“He’s done a great job. He’s made some really big saves. Tonight he was really good so you’ve got to tip your cap a little bit,” South Carolina head coach Ryan Warsofsky said about Heeter. “We’ve got to make his job more difficult.”
South Carolina fianlly found a chink in Heeter’s armor early in the second. With a delayed penalty coming on the Solar Bears, Heeter made a save on a shot  by Roberto but the rebound careened away. It headed in the direction of Mason Mitchell who lifted it over Heeter and into the net at the 7:47 mark to give the Stingrays their first lead of the game and the series. For Mitchell, it was his second goal of the series and just the second that South Carolina had put past the Orlando goalie in almost two and a half games.
By the time the second period got to the final five minutes of play left, the Stingrays had a 29-8 shot advantage in the contest but the host Solar Bears were not phased by the disparity in opportunities. They kept plugging away and were able to pull even with 3:14 left in the middle frame. It came off the transition as J.J. Piccinich took the puck from Perry into the South Carolina end. He looked up and saw Nolan Valleau trailing and dropped a pass to the defenseman. Valleau saw Perry heading for the net and threaded a perfect feed to the veteran forward who redirected it past Milner for his first of the series.
Buoyed by three power play chances in the third, the Solar Bears tried to go for the kill but Milner – who finished the game with 28 saves – kept the Stingrays from falling behind with eleven saves in the stanza. At the other end, Heeter turned away Roberto on a short-handed mini breakout, one of nine stops in the final frame to maintain the 1-1 tie and sending the game into overtime.
The Stingrays started pulling even more stops out in the extra frame, keeping Heeter extremely busy. Midway through the period, Orlando’s Robbie Baillargeon was tagged  for elbowing, giving the visitors a shot to win but the Solar Bears penalty killers held tough. Then with 3:35 remaining, the home team was whistled for too many men on the ice, putting the Stingrays back on the man advantage. After killing half of the penalty off, Zimmerman, Perry and Fejes combined to put Orlando one win away from its first ever ECHL playoff series win.
Joe Perry (center) and Chris Crane celebrate Perry’s second period goal Thursday night (Photo courtesy of Fernando Medina / Orlando Solar Bears)
For Solar Bears head coach and general manager Drake Berehowsky, Thursday’s win was just the latest example of how his team has come together as a unit.
“Everybody’s pulling the same rope right now. These guys have come together and they’re trying to do it for each other,” Berehowsky said. “I’m really proud of the way they’ve puled it together. The closeness that’s in the room right now is phenominal and everybody’s supporting each other out there.”
Asked about his seemingly getting better with each game, Heeter was quick to give credit to the entire team for the success so far in the series.
“It’s not just me. It’s the team. We’re getting better every game. Top to bottom, we’re playing better, more consistent, working harder,” Heeter said. “Guys are bailing me out when I give up bad rebounds or whatever. It’s been great. That team [South Carolina] hasn’t given us an inch. Everything we’ve gotten we’ve earned.”
Meanwhile at the other end of the building, Stingrays coach Warsofsky said his team will have to play every shift of every game as if it was a game seven in hopes of extending their season.
“It’s do or die is what they say, right? This is [now] a game seven mentality from here on out,” Warsofsky said. “Our focus and our mental approach is going to be let’s try to win a hockey game, let’s just try to win a hockey game. It’s been done before. This isn’t impossible. We have a group in there that can do something special. We have a group in there that plays for each other and we’re going to stick together and we’re going to go down fighting.”
Notes: Final shots in the game were 50-30 in favor of South Carolina… Both teams were 0-for-5 on the power play… The Solar Bears are a perfect 14-for-14 killing off the Stingrays man advantage opportunities while South Carolina is 10-for-11 killing off Orlando power plays… Heeter has now stopped 108 of 110 shots faced in three games… Valleau, who just returned from a callup to the AHL’s Utica Comets, and Martins Dzierkals played in their first games of the series, taking the places of Tommy Davis and Chris LeBlanc respectively… Orlando is now 2-2 in overtime playoff games. The Solar Bears last win in extra time came on April 26, 2014 when Eric Baier’s score at 5:13 of the first overtime allowed Orlando to win game five against Cincinnati on the road. The victory extended the series to game six where the Cyclones prevailed on Amway Center ice…The 77:29 of playing time made the contest the longest post-season overtime game in ECHL Solar Bears history… Game 4’s puck drop on Saturday is set for 7 p.m. at the Amway Center.
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