Mistakes cost Solar Bears two points

ORLANDO, FLA – Mistakes in a team sport like hockey can take many different forms. They can be mental or physical. They can come in any zone of the ice but are magnified in the defensive end. They can come in the first game of the year or the very last one. Regardless of the what, when and why, mistakes can be the difference between missing the playoffs and winning a championship.

Brett Findlay scored his eleventh goal of the season Tuesday night (Photo courtesy of F. Media & G. Bassing/Orlando Solar Bears)

Right now, the Orlando Solar Bears are learning just how painful mistakes can be.

Andrew Rowe scored the tie-breaking goal with less than three minutes left in regulation as part of a three score third period to boost the South Carolina Stingrays to a 4-2 victory over the host Solar Bears. The loss, which was just Orlando’s fourth after leading going into the final frame, pushed the Solar Bears further into sixth place in the ECHL’s East division.

“There was flashes of it (solid play) when we had some good sustained pressure. I think we came out in the third period and we started turning pucks over, not managing it well, circling. Then they started chipping and chasing a bit,” Orlando head coach Vince Williams said. “We had a couple of chances too but ultimately a missed assignment in our defensive zone left a pretty dangerous player in the middle of the slot. You give a player like that the time [and] he’s going to put it in the net.”

The game winning sequence was just the latest in a series of mistakes that have snowballed into a three-game losing streak for Orlando (24-19-3-0, 51 points). Braden Pimm, who had three assists in the game, stated it by sending the puck deep. Derek DeBlois tracked it down and began to circle behind the net guarded by Solar Bears goalie Garret Sparks. As the defensive players collapsed toward the goal line, Rowe was left all alone in the slot. DeBlois made a perfect pass to Rowe and the Stingrays sniper snapped a shot into the back of the net.

Neither team came out of the first period with an advantage thanks in large part to the netminders. Sparks, who was looking to start a new win streak of his own, and South Carolina’s Jeff Jakaitis went into lockdown mode from the opening faceoff and battled to a scoreless tie. Sparks was the busier of the two, facing several shot sequences and in tight opportunities among the 17 he faced while Jakaitis looked at 12 from the Solar Bears.

A carry over power play from the first period helped Orlando open the scoring early in the second period. Just 22 seconds in, Patrick Watling sent Carson McMillan down the wing to Jakaitis’ left. As he appraoched the faceoff dot, McMillan unleashed a wicked shot that beat Jakaitis to the far side just inside the post. The score was McMillan’s fifth of the season and got the home crowd into the game.

The lead lasted a little over two minutes before South Carolina (25-18-1-6, 57 points) evened the score. The goal came off the stick of Rob Ricci who was in the right place to bang home the rebound of a Rob Bellamy shot from in close. Ricci, whose penalty had been responsible for the Orlando power play tally, pounced on the loose puck in the crease and pushed it across the goal line.

Orlando went back in front at the 4:54 mark with some fancy passing. The play started with Watling making a pin point cross-ice pass to Stefan Della Rovere on the near side wing. Della Rovere sent the puck toward the net where it crossed in front of Jakaitis and went right to Brett Findlay who was on the backside. Findlay calmly collected the disc and tucked it into the wide open net for his eleventh goal in a Solar Bears uniform. Orlando had a couple more good scoring chances that could have increased its lead but Findlay was stoned by Jakaitis (30 saves) on a break in and Della Rovere missed the net on a breakaway late in the frame.

“I thought we played a good game for forty minutes,” Findlay said.