ORLANDO, FL – With just a couple of seconds left on the clock in the third period of Thursday’s Orlando Solar Bears game against the Jacksonville Icemen, Joe Perry was sitting on two goals and had the puck near the side boards in the Icemen defensive end. Disregarding the quickly passing time, instinct took over and he simply fired the puck at the net. Exactly two questions immediately came to the minds of the Solar Bears and their fans: would the puck find its way into the net and would it be before the buzzer went off and the clock showed that time had run out?
Orlando’s Joe Perry (center) celebrates one of his three goals in Thursday’s game against Jacksonville (Photo courtesy of Fernando Medina / Orlando Solar Bears)
The delayed roar of the crowd and the hats that hit the ice in celebration gave the answer. Yes it had on both counts.
Led by Perry’s hat trick and four points and two more tallies and three points by Hunter Fejes, the Solar Bears (32-28-6-3, 73 points) put an exclaimation point to their season series with the Icemen (25-35-4-3, 57 points) with a 6-1 victory in front of an announced crowd of 6,144 at the Amway Center. The win allowed Orlando to move within one point of clinching third place in the ECHL’s South division heading into the Kelly Cup playoffs that begin next month.
The trio of tallies allowed Perry to pass Eric Faille as the most prolific goal scorer in the ECHL history of the Solar Bears with 52. It was also a breakout game for a veteran leader who will be expected to play a big role if Orlando is going to make a long run in the post season.
“It was just kind of one of those games [that] I haven’t had in a while. Everything just seemed to go my way. Pucks were bouncing to me and to my linemates,” the Nanaimo, British Columbia native said about his hot night. “I was able to get to the net on a couple and obviously scoring three in one night is always nice.”
With Jacksonville still fighting to get into the playoffs, the newest Sunshine State rivalry had promise to be a grueling test of both teams. The first eight minutes of the contest felt one-sided in favor of the home team as Orlando quickly built a 7-2 shot advantage but the Icemen stayed in the contest thanks to the work of netminder Austin Lotz. The second year pro was rock solid, stopping all seven Solar Bears shotsin the early going.
The Icemen’s power play, which has struggled all season, collected the game’s opening score. With Solar Bears defenseman Sam Jardine in the box, Tanner Eberle put a shot on Orlando netminder Mackenzie Skapski that the big goalie stopped. Skapski failed to maintain control of the rebound and Tyson Fawcett was there to poke home the loose puck for his 12th goal of the season at the 8:45 mark, a mere thirteen ticks into the man advantage.
Following a fight between the Solar Bears Kyle Rankin and the Icemen’s Kyle Bigos, another infraction put Orlando again on the penalty kill. This time the result was different as Fejes, who had just returned from a callup to the AHL’s Toronto Marlies, combined with Perry for the tying score. Fejes started the sequence by taking the puck away from an opponent. He skated the puck into the Jacksonville end but had no clear shot at the net. Fejes curled and passed it to Perry who took a shot that Lotz stopped. Fejes went to the net and cashed in the rebound for his 28th of the year and 12th with Orlando.
It was also the Solar Bears ninth short-handed goal of the season.
“I kind of went stick on puck and was able to force a turnover. I cut to the middle and I didn’t really have a lane to shoot so I curled back and I saw Joe going down the slot.I fed it for him for a nice little breakaway,” Fejes said. “He made a nice little move and I thought he was going to score it honestly. Then it popped up and I just happened to go to the net and it was an easy tap in for me.”
Not wanting to let the penalty killers have all the fun, Orlando’s power play decided to get into the act. Playing with an advantage in the final minute of the first frame, Martins Dzierkals moved the puck to Max Novak. Novak hammered a shot that Lotz stopped but again the rebound got away. Perry, who made a living near the crease last season, was in the right place to shove the puck across the line with 1.9 seconds remaining before the intermission for his 15th of the season and his 50th as a member of the Solar Bears.
Solar Bears forward Hunter Fejes (black) fires the puck past Jacksonville goalie Austin Lotz for one of his two goals in Thursday’s contest (Photo courtesy of Fernando Medina / Orlando Solar Bears)
A roughing penalty on Kristian Pospisil in a scrum after Perry’s tally gave the Icemen the power play to start the second. Once again Fejes and Perry worked their magic, creating a two-on-one break with Fejes setting up Perry for his second of the night and 16th of the season.
“He [Fejes] is a big part of our team. He brings a lot of speed, hustle, everything you look for in a player,” Perry said about his teammate. “With him out there on five-on-five, penalty kill, power play, he kind of does it all so he’s big for us.”
Exactly four minutes later, the Solar Bears struck again. This time it was defenseman Mike Monfrdedo who was down low and cleaned up the rebound of a shot by Robbie Baillargeon for his sixth of the season and a 4-1 cushion.
More penalties and a fight between Monfredo and Jacksonville’s Josh Erickson punctuated the middle part of the second period, slowing down the flow. It only stemmed the tide of Solar Bears offense for a while before Fejes scored a pretty goal for his second of the game and 29th of the season / 13th with Orlando. Again an odd-man rush was converted as J.J. Piccinich laid a pass over to Fejes who kicked the disc with his skate to his stick blade and scored over Lotz.
Trailing 5-1 with twenty minutes left, Jacksonville head coach Jason Christie replaced Lotz (28 saves) with backup Alex Sakellaropoulos. Sakellaropoulos did an admirable job, holding off the Solar Bears until literally the final second when Perry surprised everyone with his hat trick goal.
Almost lost in the offensive explosion was the work of Skapski between the pipes. Following the first period goal by Fawcett, Skapski was flawless, turning away the final 19 shots he faced in the contest to pick up his 12th win of the season.
With the post season less than two weeks away, chemistry between the players will be a key factor to success. Based on the way that Fejes and Perry worked together, the pair should be together alot.
“It’s kind of been like this for awhile with Joe. For the power play and penalty kill, we try to get into a consistent pairing so that people can create chemistry,” Fejes said. “Joe and I, we click very well together.”
The four special teams scores were also a source of pride for Solar Bears head coach and general manager Drake Berehowsky. Asked about the importance of the play of his power play and penalty killing units, the former NHL defenseman said that special teams could be the difference during the playoffs.
“It’s huge. It can make the difference in a game,” Berehowsky said. “Hopefully there won’t be as many penalties and power plays in the playoffs. Anytime you have an opportunity [on the] man advantage, you want to be able to get momentum off it. It’s the same with the penalty kill. We don’tlook to score goals but if we do it’s a bonus and we’rethrilled that it happens.”
As for Perry and his four point night, Berehowsky said that the veteran forward doesn’t necessarily have to score goals like the 35 he had last season to make an impact.
“Joe has always played well. Just because he doesn’t score goals, doesn’t mean he’snot the Joe Perry of last year,” Berehowsky said. “He does other things. He gets in on the forecheck, he blocks shots, he’s important in the [locker] room. We’re thrilled that he’s scoring goals don’t get me wrong but Joe Perry brings so much more to the room and to the ice than just goals.”
Notes: Orlando outshot Jacksonville 49-23 in the game… The Solar Bears went 2-for-9 on the power play while the Icemen finished 1-for-6… Orlando won the season series with a final record of 7-1-1-0… With the loss, Jacksonville was eliminated from playoff contention… Josh Winquist’s assist on Perry’s hat trick goal gave him 50 points for the season, joining Max Novak… Novak and Winquist each picked up their 21st points on the power play and share the new team record. They both passed Eric Baier previous mark of 20 set in 2016-17… Orlando can lock in third place with a win Saturday at home against Greenville or a loss by Atlanta to Florida… Saturday’s meeting with the Swamp Rabbits at 7 p.m. will be the back end of a hockey double-header, following the annual Guns N Hoses contest between the Orange County Police and Fire departments that begins at 2 p.m. A ticket for the Solar Bears game will allow holders into both games.
Contact the author at don.money@prohockeynews.com
Follow the author on Twitter @phnsingleaedit or @prohockeynews
You must be logged in to post a comment.