GREENVILLE, SC – At this point in the month of March, dealing with adversity is the difference between playoff teams and those that are booking tee times in early April. Those that battle through the problems and win become battle-tested, which is a good thing to be when the post-season rolls around.
It is beginning to look like the Orlando Solar Bears are becoming that kind of tough team.
Kale Kerbashian got up from a heavy hit late in regulation to score his second game-winning overtime goal in a week as Orlando (30-26-5-1, 66 points) got past the Greenville Swamp Rabbits (21-33-7-1, 50 points) 3-2 in front of an announced crowd of 6,407 at the Bon Secours Wellness Arena on Sunday afternoon. J.J. Piccinich and Sam Jardine each pitched in with a goal while goalie Mackenzie Skapski matched teammate Cal Heeter’s performance a night before with 37 saves to pick up his eleventh win of the season.
With the win and losses by Jacksonville and Norfolk, the Solar Bears knocked their magic number for clinching a playoff spot down to eight. They also trimmed their magic number to lock up the third seed in the divisional portion of the ECHL Kelly Cup playoffs to 14.
Kerbashian, who netted the overtime winner last Sunday at home, was sent head first into the boards by Greenville’s Evan Jasper with 44.5 seconds left in regulation. The Orlando power play extended into the extra period where Martins Dzierkals set up the veteran forward for a one-time rocket from the slot that beat Swamp Rabbits netminder Brandon Halverson just 26 seconds in.
The game started with Orlando head coach and general manager Drake Berehowsky having to cobble together a lineup when defenseman Sean Zimmerman and forward Max Novak did not answer the bell to start the contest. It meant that Kyle Rankin once again fell back to play defense while rookie forward Manny Gialedakis drew into his first ever professional contest.
The first period ended in a scoreless draw as Skapski and Halverson, a New York Rangers prospect, battled their way into a perfect scoresheet. Each netminder had his moments as Halverson made a brilliant save on Orlando’s Aleksandr Mikulovich and Skapski matched it with a great pad save on an attempt by Greenville’sJoe Basaraba.
The frame was highlighted by an epic fight between’s the Solar Bears Tayler Thompson and the Swamp Rabbits Chad Duchesne. The two unleashed multiple bombastic shots on their opponent only to see fists coming back in their direction. The battle brought the crowd to its collective feet when the brawl finally came to a conclusion.
Orlando’s special teams, which played a key role in the contest, connected for the game’s opening tally 7:23 into the middle frame. It came when Piccinich collected the rebound of a shot by Hunter Fejes and buried the puck into the net just inside the right post. For the Paramus, NJ native, it was his 16th goal of the season.
At the 11:24 mark of the period, Orlando’s Adam Phillips was tagged for an interference penalty. During the Greenville power play, Mikulovich tried to line up Matt Prapavessis for a hip check but something went terribly wrong as the Swamp Rabbits defenseman fell on top of Mikulovich, sending the Russian-born blueliner to the lockerroom withan undisclosed injury that kept him out for the rest of the contest.
With just one second left on the man advantage, the Swamp Rabbits evened the score when Sean Flanagan put the puck to the front of the net from below the goal line. Shane Walsh was able to get to it first and jammed the disc past Skapski for his sixth goal of the season. The period ended tied at one thanks to Skapski, who faced an onslaught of 20 Greenville shots and allowed just the Walsh tally.
Five minutes into the final period, Walsh was at it again, picking up his second of the game and seventh of the season to put the Swamp Rabbits in front. Austin McKay and Matt Johnson did the dirty work, getting the puck to Walsh who whipped home a shot from the hashmarks in the slot.
The Solar Bears needed a tying score in the worst way and Jardine, who had been in the penalty box just prior, chipped in with a huge score. Playing with a truncated man advantage, Alex Gudbranson worked the puck to Dzierkals who in turn sent it to Jardine. Using a couple of defenders as screens, the Lacombe, Alberta native launched a missle that snuck past Halverson for his fourth goal of the season.
The Swamp Rabbits had an opportunity to regain the lead when a pair of overlapping penalties to Jardine and Gudbranson (who compounded matters by picking up a misconduct penalty to end his day) that gave Greenville a two-man advantage for 59 seconds. With just three regular defensemen and Rankin to lean on, the Solar Bears were able to kill off both infractions to maintain the 2-2 tie.
The game was heading quickly toward overtime when Jasper drove Kerbashian into the boards in front of the benches, quickly drawing a penalty from the referee. Kerbashian took a moment to collect himself and continued on, putting him in a position to net his third game-winning goal since joining the Solar Bears and allowing Orlando to head home from its three game road trip with four of a possible six points in its pockets.
Notes: Final shots in the game were 39-32 in favor of Greenville… The Solar Bears went 3-for-5 with the man advantage while the Swamp Rabbits finished 1-for-6… Dzierkals finished the game with two assists as the Solar Bears moved to 8-0 when the Latvian-born forward pickes up two or more points. He also extended his point streak to two games (1 goal, 2 assists)… Kerbashian now has a two-game goal streak going, joining Gudbranson (two-game assist streak) and Fejes (two-game point streak) with multi-game success… With the win, Orlando hit the 30-victory mark for the fifth time in its six seasons in the ECHL… The Solar Bears are back at the Amway Center on Thursday for a meeting with the first place Florida Everblades. It will be the first of a three-games-in-three-days set against their in-state archrival.
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