BRAMPTON, ONT – During warmups for Friday’s Orlando Solar Bears game against the Brampton Beast, goalie Ryan Massa appeared at one point to be in some sort of pain, leaving some observers to wonder whether he would be between the pipes for the Solar Bears. Instead of missing the start, he became an absolute pain in the behind to the Beast.
Massa made 34 saves and Justin Buzzeo provided the only goal in the shootout as Orlando (33-23-6-3, 75 points) edged Brampton (36-21-3-5, 80 points) 3-2 in front of an announced crowd of 2,691 at the Powerade Centre. The victory was the second straight win by the Solar Bears over the Beast and eighth overall against the North division leaders.
Eric Faille and Tony Cameranesi scored the Orlando goals in regulation before Buzzeo played the part of the hero in the skills competition. On the Solar Bears second of three shots, Buzzeo went wide to the left before cutting to the center of the ice. From there he was able to slide the puck between the legs of Brampton goalie Zach Fucale for the winner. Massa then finished off things by denying both David Pacan and Luke Pither to give his team a very important two points.
The victory allowed Orlando to leap frog over the idle Cincinnati Cyclones into third place in the South division by a single point. The Solar Bears trail second place Greenville by two points and are clear of fifth place South Carolina by two.
The two teams went at each others goalie with fervor from the opening faceoff, raining shots on Massa and Fucale at will. The first big break of the contest came at the 7:09 mark when the Solar Bears’ Joe Perry was called for a double minor for high sticking David Vallorani. Although the Beast did not take advantage of the first minor, they did score on the back half when Pacan redirected a shot by Brandon Marino into the Orlando net for his 36th goal of the season.
Faille, who was coming off a three point night on Thursday, evened things up at the 17:02 mark of the opening period. He was in the right place to corral the rebound of a shot by Chase Witala and jammed it past Fucale’s blocker side for his 24th goal of the year.
Early in the second, the Solar Bears had an opportunity to take the lead when Mason Marchment broke in on Fucale but the young netminder made the save. Not too long after, Massa was under seige when Marino found the puck in the slot and scored through a sea of bodies for his 19th of the season.
The game began to open up after Marino’s tally, giving both goalie a chance to shine. Massa stared down Pither on a breakaway and one end and them moments later Fucale turned away Marchment twice in a span of ten seconds with a chance by Shane Conacher that just missed high sandwiched in between. Late in the period, Massa again stood tall to keep the game within range at 2-1 Brampton heading to the final period.
Much like Thursday’s battle, Orlando came up with the tying score early in the third. At the 4:28 mark of the frame, Cameranesi was in the right place to redirect a shot from the point by Eric Baier for his 14th of the campaign.
The final fifteen minutes of regulation again belonged to the netminders as Massa and Fucale (37 saves) went toe-to-toe in an epic battle. Massa’s best stop of the stanza came when he once again denied Pither on a break-in, this time using his leg pads to take away a sure goal. In the dying seconds of the period, Solar Bears defenseman Taylor Doherty nearly won it when his shot from the point came oh so close to trickling across the goal line but failed to do so.
In the overtime, Massa came up big yet again. His left leg pad took away an opportunity from Marino on a clean breakaway and in the final second another save denied Vallorani the potential game-winner.
After each goalie made a stop in the first round of the shootout, Buzzeo – who was 0-for-1 in shootout attempts while with Atlanta – was able to solve Fucale to put the Solar Bears ahead. Massa then made a brilliant poke check move to deny Pacan. In the third round, Fucale stopped Orlando’s Denver Manderson to bring the game down to yet another showdown between Pither and Massa. Pither skated in but Massa had him measured up, forcing the Beast sniper to miss the net to seal the win for the visitors.
Orlando moved to 8-0 all time against Brampton including a 5-0 mark at the Powerade Centre. The two teams will conclude their season series Sunday afternoon at 2 p.m. in Brampton.
Notes: Orlando’s power play went 0-for-2 in the game while Brampton’s man advantage units went 1-for-2… Baier’s assist on Cameranesi’s score was the 100th helper of his professional career… Doherty rejoined the Solar Bears roster after he was released from a PTO by the AHL’s Providence Bruins. He took the spot normally occupied by Chris Bradley in the lineup… Kasimir Kaskisuo continued his superb play for the Toronto Marlies, Orlando’s AHL affiliate. He ran his record to a perfect 3-0 with a 26-save victory over the Binghamton Senators Friday night. Another one-time Solar Bear, Brett Findlay, had a goal and an assist as he continues to impress after being called up in late December.
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