ORLANDO, FLA – Killer instinct is the concept of having an opponent down and not letting them get up. In the world of sports, it is the ability to get ahead of the opposition and putting them away.
Trevor Ludwig picked up his first point with the Solar Bears Monday night (Photo courtesy of G. Bassing & F. Medina / Orlando Solar Bears)
Monday night, the Orlando Solar Bears had the Missouri Mavericks playing from behind twice – including midway through the third period – and failed to put the visitors away. In the end, not having that killer instinct was fatal.
Dane Fox scored the game-tying goal with less than three minutes left in regulation, setting up Sam Povorozniouk to win the game in overtime as the Mavericks (6-7-0-1, 13 points) edged the Solar Bears (6-5-2-0, 14 points) 4-3 in front of an announced crowd of 3,691 at the Amway Center. The loss spoiled a big night for Orlando’s Denver Manderson who scored twice and assisted on Joe Perry’s second period tally.
“When we were up 2-1 [and] up 3-2, you have opportunities to make it 3-1 or 4-2. We’ve got to bear down a little bit,” Manderson said. “It’s a real fine line of sitting back trying to protect the lead and sticking to your game.”
Povorozniouk’s goal came off a pass from Kevin Tansey that allowed Missouri’s leading goal scorer to bear down on Orlando goalie Kasimir Kaskisuo and slide a backhander past the glove of the rookie netminder. It came moments after Solar Bears sniper Eric Faille was denied by Mavericks netminder Ville Husso on a clean breakaway at the other end.
The battle between Kaskisuo, who hails from Vantaa, Finland and Husso, a native of Helsinki, Finland, was just one of the subplots in the first ever meeting between the two franchises. There was also former Mavericks captain Trevor Ludwig facing the team he led on the ice a year ago as well as Missouri’s Matt Finn, who a couple of years ago called Orlando home for a time while being a farmhand of the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Orlando started the game with a strong push but it was Missouri who found the scoreboard first. At the 3:30 mark of the opening period, Kaskisuo went behind his net to play the puck. As he did, he was bumped and went down, losing his stick in the process. Instead of going back in front of his goal, the young netminder went after his stick (which went in the direction of the referee) while the puck floated out to Justin Selman who slid it into the open cage for his second goal of the season.
Husso, who entered the contest with an 0-3 record, kept the Solar Bears off the board for most of the opening frame. His most consistent victim was Faille, who had a couple of solid scoring opportunities but was not able to beat the 21-year old goalie.
Late in the frame, the Solar Bears were able to tie the score. Rookie defenseman Jon Jutzi made the key play by driving the puck down below the goal line in the Missouri defensive end. He saw an opening and found Manderson who drilled a shot inside the near post from just to the side of the low slot area for his fifth goal of the year. Daniel Maggio, who was assigned by the the AHL Toronto Marlies on Sunday and was added to the roster earlier on Monday, picked up the secondary assist for his first point in an Orlando uniform.
The second period looked like a carbon copy of the first with the host Solar Bears dominating both on the shot clock and in territorial play. That advantage turned into a go-ahead goal when Ludwig picked up a pass and skated down toward the goal line to Husso’s right. From a tight angle, he put the puck on net and the goalie made the save but Perry was there to clean up the rebound for his team-leading sixth goal at the 13:08 mark.
“The puck just kind of went across the crease there. I got a fortunate bounce out to me,” Ludwig said about the play. “I faked a shot and he (Husso) just kind of went down. I put the puck on his pads and big Perry was there to win that battle and put the puck in the net.”
The lead lasted exactly five minutes before the Mavericks came up with an answer. Selman took the puck below the goal line, drawing a defender with him. It left just enough room for him to place a perfect pass on the stick of Rocco Carzo who was right outside the top of the crease. Carzo did not hesitate, rapping a one-time shot into the lower corner of the net to Kaskisuo’s right for his third goal of the season, sending the contest to the final frame all even.
The Mavericks, who were coming off a shootout win over the Eastern conference-leading Florida Everblades on Saturday, had the momentum and came out fast in the third period looking to go in front again but Kaskisuo was ready for the challenge. He was able to hold the fort, allowing his team to get their legs by fending off eight shots in the first seven minutes of the stanza.
Just past the midpoint of the period, the Solar Bears found the mark to regain the lead. With Brett Findlay driving toward the net, Manderson caught Husso cheating off the near post with a shot from the face-off circle to the goalie’s left for his second of the night and sixth of the year.
“We had a good breakout in our own end and I was able to get a bit of ice,” Manderson said. “Finner (Findlay) was going to the net – that’s who I was originally looking for – and I thought he (Husso) might cheat towards the pass so I just went short side.”
Orlando held the lead until the 17:07 mark when the Mavericks found away to even the score once again. This time it was Fox who took the puck down the half boards to Kaskisuo’s right. Just after he got below the face-off dot, Fox fired a high shot that fooled the Solar Bears goalie and sailed over his shoulder to knot the scoreboard for the third time in the contest. The tally was Fox’s fifth of the season.
Neither team was able to break the tie in regulation and the game went to the three-on-three extra session where Faille had his chance on the break. He tried to put a move on Husso to open up the goalie’s five hole but Husso used his stick to thwart the effort. Seconds later, Tansey set up Povorozniouk for the game-winner.
Despite the loss, Orlando head coach Drake Berehowsky said that there were plenty of positives to take from the game.
“We can’t forget [that] we still got one point out of it so we’ve got to be positive about that,” Berehowsky said. “The guys did play a good game I thought. We dominated the possession. We just have to tweak the [our] game to get to those tougher areas and hopefully we’ll have some success.”
Ludwig, whose assist on the Perry score was his first point for the Solar Bears, said that finding the killer instinct should be as simple as each player looking inside themselves.
“I think a lot of it has to come [from] within. I guess me as an older guy or the coaches can always try to push them (younger players) in the right direction or do what they can to help motivate them,” he said. “I think that’s just something they’ve just got to find within themselves – personally that’s my opinion. They’ve got to find that drive, that compete, that energy, that will to get better and to make it to the next level ultimately.”
Notes: Husso finished with 47 saves to earn the win while Kaskisuo stopped 26 in taking the loss… Each team went 0-for-1 on the power play… Missouri is now 3-1 in games that go beyond regulation… The two teams will meet for the second and final time this season Tuesday night at 7 p.m. at the Amway Center.
Contact the author at don.money@prohockeynews.com
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