ORLANDO, FLA – With less than a month to go until the 2021 ECHL Kelly Cup playoffs, the Orlando Solar Bears found themselves in the fourth and final Eastern conference spot heading into Monday’s final regular season meeting with the Greenville Swamp Rabbits. The Solar Bears had handled the Swamp Rabbits well in the previous ten games, going 7-2-1-0 against their South division rival. Maybe it was the fact that Orlando, like Greenville, was playing in its third game in four days but the Swamp Rabbits got the last laugh for now.
Goalie John Lethemon stopped all 26 shots he faced for his first professional shutout as Greenville (29-17-11-3) defeated Orlando (30-22-5-1) 1-0 in front of a COVID-restricted crowd of 2,250 at the Amway Center. Patrick Bajkov’s goal eight minutes into the game stood up as the game-winner for Greenville, which held on to the second seed in the East while making the Solar Bears sweat some more.
Lethemon outdueled Orlando netminder Clint Windsor, who made 28 saves, in a classic playoff season-style battle between the two southland foes. Lethemon came away with two victories in the three weekend meetings over his counterpart.
No one was quite sure how much gas was still in the tanks on both sides of the ice after the two tight struggles on Friday (a 3-2 Greenville win in overtime) and Saturday (a 3-2 Orlando win on a goal in the last two minutes of regulation). The opening seven and a half minutes of Monday’s affair were pretty even with Orlando and Greenville even on the shot clock at three apiece.
The game’s only goal came less than thirty seconds later. Ben Finkelstein and Matt Bradley played a little give-and-go rush into the Solar Bears defensive zone with Finkelstein eventually firing a shot at the net. Windsor made the save but the rebound took off into the slot. With four Orlando defenders converging, Bajkov – a Florida Panthers prospect – got to it first and whipped a shot high over Windsor’s right shoulder for his 15th goal of the season.
The Bajkov tally turned the heat up a little bit, ramping up the physical play. Late in the frame, Solar Bears defenseman Matthew Spencer laid a big hit on a Swamp Rabbits player, drawing the attention on Greenville’s Matthew Strome who challenged Spencer. The pair drew double minors for roughing.
As the second period started, it looked like the Solar Bears might have a bigger problem on their hands. Just 25 seconds in, Greenville’s Alec Rauhauser ripped a shot that caught Windsor on the toe of one of his skates. It obviously stunned the Orlando netminder but after receiving some attention from the team’s athletic trainer, Windsor stayed in the contest.
Things got a but ugly at the 6:46 mark when Solar Bears defenseman Luke McInnis blasted an opponent into the boards. That brought Greenville’s Frank DiChiara into the picture and the two tussled for a bit. the pair drew matching roughing minors but McInnis’ hit was deemed a five-minute major penalty for boarding and a game misconduct to go with it.
At the time, the Swamp Rabbits had a golden opportunity to increase their lead and gain a firm grip on the game. The Solar Bears had other ideas as their penalty killing sets allowed Greenville very little room to work and just two shots on net during the extended man advantage.
Lethemon was not without his own moment during that Orlando power play. With a little over ten minutes left in the period and about two minutes left in the Greenville advantage, Solar Bear Tristin Langan stole the puck below the visitors’ goal line. He then made a perfect pass to the slot where Chris LeBlanc was steaming through and wide open. LeBlanc stepped into a one-time blast but Lethemon flashed his glove hand to make the save. It kept the Swamp Rabbits ahead by one, a position that held into the second intermission.
The two teams had combined for 22 shots on net in the middle frame, a relative shootout compared to what happened in the third stanza. The shots on net that got through to the netminders dropped noticeably as Greenville got seven shots through to Windsor while just six got to Lethemon.
Orlando had two power plays during the frame, one at 4:50 and the other at 11:16, but by that point the Swamp Rabbits were in defensive mode. In the final 8:44 of play (which included the second Orlando power play), the Solar Bears recorded only one shot on net. Over that same time frame, Windsor had to make four stops to give his team a chance to tie or win but Lethemon was in no mood to give the home team a shot for a victory.
With the win, Greenville upped its points percentage to .600 to maintain the second spot in the playoffs. Third place Indy, beneficiary of a forfeit declared by the ECHL for a May 4th game against Fort Wayne that was not played, kept its third position with a move to a .591 percentage. Orlando dropped to a .569 percentage, staying ahead of fifth place Jacksonville which is sitting at .554.
The Solar Bears are off for a few days until the first place Florida Everblades invade the Amway Center for games on Friday and Saturday night at 7 p.m. The Swamp Rabbits get a break until a pair of contests with the Wheeling Nailers on Saturday at 7:10 p.m. and Sunday at 4:10 p.m. in Wheeling.
Contact the author at don.money@prohockeynews.com
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