ORLANDO, FLA – The book on defenseman Eric Knodel, a Toronto Maple Leafs prospect, was that he was a solide defender with a cannon for a shot from the blue line. Thursday night at the Amway Center, the Orlando Solar Bears put that cannon to good use.
Eric Knodel scored twice in Orlando’s win Thursday night (Photo courtesy of F. Medina & G. Bassing / Orlando Solar Bears)
Knodel scored two goals, setting up Johnny McInnis’ game winning shot in a shootout as the Solar Bears edged the Cincinnati Cyclones 3-2 in front of an announced crowd of 4,509. The extra point allowed the Solar Bears to pull within five points of the fourth place Greenville Road Warriors in the race for the ECHL’s East division’s final playoff spot.
Knodel, who is on his second assignment with Orlando, doubled his season’s goal-scoring output with the two tallies. The fact that they came in such an important game was icing on the cake.
“When I was first down here, I didn’t really get a chance to really shoot the puck a whole lot,” Knodel said. “I’m getting the opportunities now and doing the best I can with it.”
Orlando (27-21-4-2, 60 points) badly needed a win to not only take advantage of a game in hand but to get back at the Cyclones (26-23-1-5, 58 points) for a 3-0 shutout loss on Tuesday. The Solar Bears also wanted to get back to a .500 record at home, something that in past seasons has not been a problem.
Things did not start off well for Orlando. Less than a minute into the contest, the Solar Bears were called for a too many men on the ice penalty. During the ensuing power play, Cincinnati’s David MacDonald one-timed a pass from Brett Wysopal past goalie Garret Sparks to give the Cyclones the early lead.
Cincinnati netminder Rob Madore, who had pitched the shutout on Tuesday, was again on his game. He was frustrating the Solar Bears at every turn, making several big saves in the opening frame. Even when the puck did get past him, as a shot from Knodel did during an Orlando man advantage, luck was with him in the form of the goal post.
As Madore’s hex over the home team continued into the middle frame, the fans grew restless looking for something to cheer about. It finally came at the 8:16 mark when Orlando captain Stefan Della Rovere won an offensive zone faceoff. The puck slid back to Knodel at the point where he lined up a drive. Using two defenders as screens, Knodel’s shot threaded the needle into the bottom corner of the net to Madore’s left side.
“Della Rovere did a great job winning the draw,” Knodel said. “I just stepped into it and tried to get as much of it as I could and found a good spot with a good screen with their two guys in front.”
Sparks and Madore then set about matching save for save. The Cincinnati goalie was much busier than his counterpart as the Solar Bears pounded 22 shots at him in the period but no more got by him. Sparks only faced seven shots in the frame but every save he made kept the game tied heading into the third.
The goalie battle continued until almost the midpoint of the final stanza when a defensive lapse cost Orlando. A shot from along the boards surprised Sparks who quickly kicked his pad to stop the puck. In the scramble to get it, the disc floated out to the slot where Cincinnati’s Steven Hodges was left all alone. Hodges collected it and lifted it over Sparks to put the Cyclones back in front.
Once again the Solar Bears needed a hero and once again it was the 6-6 Knodel who came up big. In that dying seconds of an Orlando power play, Brett Findlay and Jake Cepis worked the boards in the corner, prying the puck loose for Cepis to send it to the point. Knodel shifed to the center of the ice before letting loose with another rocket that Madore never saw thanks again to being screened by his teammates.
By the end of regulation, Orlando had a 52-27 shot advantage but the score was still tied. The Solar Bears even dominated the overtime but Madore (53 saves) was there to get his team into the shootout.
In the skills competition, Denver Manderson outwaited Madore and scored but Hodges matched him the round two. Orlando’s McInnis went to school on the Manderson goal and was able to use it to his advantage as he chipped a rolling puck into the back of the net.
“I noticed the last couple of games against these guys that he (Madore) kind of jumps. If you fake a shot and go around him he comes way out of the net,” McInnis said. “If you saw Mandy’s goal, he did exactly what I was trying to do. Fortunately it fumbled up on me and I just tried to get it over his pad. I think it went through his arm and went right in.”
Sparks (26 saves) then took over, forcing Josh Shalla to shoot over the net and stopping Joe Basaraba before making Stephan Vigier shoot wide to secure the victory.
Orlando head coach Vince Williams was pleased with the effort from his troops in making up for Tuesday’s loss.
“I think we did a better job getting inside for second and third chances. I think it was important for us to pucks past their defense and get on the grind and get some sustained pressure,” Williams said. “We had to play with that type of urgency and no quit.”
The Solar Bears and Cyclones will have the weekend off before finishing off their three game set Monday night.
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