ORLANDO, FLA – After the Orlando Solar Bears put a big number on the Florida Everblades Friday night, most people expected the Everblades to come out in Saturday’s rematch at the Amway Center with revenge on their minds. Instead of offense, however, it was Florida’s defense that in the end won the day.
Goalie Jake Hildebrand stopped 37 of 39 Orlando shots, including 19 in a frantic third period, to help the visiting Everblades (37-18-2-2) to a 3-2 win over the Solar Bears (31-23-5-1) in front of a COVID-restricted crowd of 3,132. Joe Pendenza, Cole Sanford and Alex Kile each scored to give Florida a 3-0 lead after two periods before Orlando staged a late comeback that fell just short.
Anthony Repaci and Aaron Luchuk scored for the Solar Bears in the final four minutes of regulation as Orlando Head Coach and General Manager Drake Berehowsky pulled goalie Clint Windsor (28 saves) for an extra attacker. Luchuk’s tally came with just four seconds remaining, not enough time for the home team to send the contest into overtime.
The loss kept Orlando in fourth place in the ECHL’s Eastern conference but the space between the Solar Bears and third place Indy grew from .003 to .012 (points percentage is being used to determine this year’s post-season teams) in favor of the Fuel. The Solar Bears lead for the final playoff spot in the east expanded to .018 as South Carolina beat Jacksonville and leapfrogged into fifth but at a lower percentage than the Icemen were at going into Saturday’s action.
Unlike the night before when the Solar Bears jumped out to a three goal lead after twenty minutes, Florida had the better of the play in the opening frame on Saturday. They outshot Orlando 10-5 in the first period but because Windsor was playing well, the Everblades had nothing to show. Then a late power play was handed to the visitors and they made the Solar Bears pay. Off the ensuing offensive zone facceoff, the Everblades worked the puck around to Michael Huntebrinker who fired a shot from the top of the circle to Windsor’s right. Joe Pendenza was in front and redirected the drive home for his 16th goal of the season with 27 seconds left in the stanza.
The Everblades lead grew to two less than a minute into the second period. An Orlando defensive zone turnover allowed John McCarron to obtain the puck along the boards to Windsor’s left. McCarron curled off the boards and slipped a backhand pass to Cole Sanford who was skating unchecked along the goal line. Sanford found no resistance as he went to the net and drew the puck around the Orlando netminder and tucked a backhander in for his third of the season and second in as many games at the 57 second mark (his goal on Friday came 44 ticks into the middle frame).
As Orlando tried to ramp up its offense, Hildebrand was called on to make several saves to maintain the lead. He finished the period with 13 saves and his second clean sheet of the game.
His teammates rewarded their goalie with a third marker late in the period. Again a Solar Bears turnover was the key as McCarron was the recipient of a loose puck for the second time. He fed it to Colby Sissons who fired at the Orlando net. Kile was floating in front and redirected the drive but Windsor made the save. Kile proceeded to grab the rebound and deposited the puck in the cage for his 20th tally of the season and a commanding 3-0 Everblades lead after forty minutes of play.
Down three and in desperation mode, Orlando came out with a purpose in the third. The Solar Bears began pounding shot after shot at the Everblades net but Hildebrand was not in the mood to allow anything past him. Finally with a little over four minutes to go, Berehowsky rolled the dice and pulled Windsor for a sixth skater. The idea worked at the 16:41 mark as Mark Auk , who was down low near the goal line, fed a pass to Repaci at the net front. All Repaci had to do was guide the puck into the cage with his turned stick blade for his seventh of the year and second in two nights to trim the deficit to 3-1.
Berehowsky continued to extra attacker strategy but the Everblades tightened up on defense, giving Hildebrand an opportunity to see the puck and make save after save. With four seconds left, Luchuk took a feed just above the left circle after a faceoff win. Using the traffic in front, Luchuk snuck a shot past Hildebrand for his team-leading 26th goal of the season but it was not enough as time ran out.
The Solar Bears hit the ice again on Tuesday night when they travel to the Vystar Veterans Memorial Arena to face the Jacksonville Icemen at 7 p.m.
Notes: Final shots were 39-31 in favor of Orlando… The Everblades went 1-for-1 on the power play while the Solar Bears were 0-for-4… Luchuk’s tally gave him sole possession of fourth place for most goals in a single season in franchise history. He had tied T.J. Foster by scoring twice on Friday night… The Solar Bears fell to a record of 8-12-2-1 against the Everblades with the loss.
Contact the author at don.money@prohockeynews.com
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