GREENVILLE, SC – When a goalie has a bad night, it is always a tough choice for a coach whether to sit him for the next game or put him right back in between the pipes. That was the decision Orlando Solar Bears Head Coach and General Manager Drake Berehowsky faced Saturday night when his team met the host Greenville Swamp Rabbits for the second consecutive contest.
And the choice Berehowsky made proved to be the right one.
Rookie goalie Michael Lackey bounced back from a rough night, making 19 saves for his first professional shutout as Orlando (10-8-1-1) blanked Greenville (9-5-5-2) by a final of 5-0 in front of a COVID-restricted crowd of 2,243 at the Bon Secours Wellness Arena. Defenseman Nolan Valleau pick up a goal and an assist while Tristin Langan recorded three assists to pace the offense.
After giving up five goals on Thursday before being replaced between the pipes, Lackey needed to regain any confidence that he may have lost. The young netminder got plenty of help from his teammates on Saturday as they made things a lot easier for Lackey, allowing just three shots on net despite being shorthanded twice.
Offensively, the Solar Bears got all the scoring they would need late in the first period. With 3:38 left before the intermission, Langan cleanly won an offensive zone faceoff. The puck went back to Valleau who stepped into a wicked slap shot that was past Swamp Rabbits netminder Ryan Bednard before he knew it. For Valleau, who was playing in only his second game since returning to Orlando, it was his first goal of the season.
Seeing Lackey turn away all eight Greenville shots in the opening frame, his teammates set out to build a cushion. At the 5:46 mark of the second period, Langan put a shot on Bednard from a sharp angle. Bednard made the save but the rebound headed to the slot. Johno May, who won a physical positional battle with a Swamp Rabbits defender, rammed the loose puck into the open side of the cage for his second of the year to pump the visitors’ lead to 2-0.
Then seconds after the midpoint of the game, Orlando’s power play – which has been almost nonexistent on the road all season – came to life. Valleau and Aaron Luchuk worked the puck around near the blueline before Luchuk found a seam. His cross-ice pass teed up perfectly for Jake Coughler to one-time a drive from the faceoff circle to Bednard’s right into the back of the net for his fifth to make it 3-0 and send Bednard to the bench for the rest of the night.
Bednard’s replacement, John Lethemon, kept a lid on things until Tyler Bird got in front of him and redirected a point shot by Akexander Kuqali home for his third and a commanding 4-0 lead. That tally led to some bad blood and two fights before the frame closed. The first pitted Orlando rookie Luke McInnis and Greenville’s Matt Bradley who went at it in front of Lackey’s cage. Just 38 ticks later, a hard hit by the Swamp Rabbits’ Matt Wedman on the Solar Bears’ Kevin Lohan brought Kuqali in to challenge Wedman on behalf of his teammate who needed assistance getting back to his skates.
When Orlando defenseman Devante Stephens saw an opportunity to jump into the play and blistered a pass from Langan into the twine for his third of the season (and second of the week), the rout was officially on. The teams played out the remaining time, knowing they would be back at each others throats Sunday afternoon for the rubber game of the three-game set.
Notes: Final shots were 22-19 in favor of Orlando… The Solar Bears went 1-for-6 on the power play, notching its first road man advantage tally since December 19th against Wheeling. Greenville was shut out in six opportunities on the power play… Swamp Rabbits goalie Bednard stopped 11 of 14 shots in suffering the loss while Lethemon made six saves on eight shots in relief… In snapping their two-game losing streak, the Solar Bears improved to 5-2-1-0 following a regulation time loss… Orlando is now 7-0-0-0 when scoring first in a game this season.
Contact the author at don.money@prohockeynews.com
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