JACKSONVILLE, FLA – On Saturday, November 16th, the Jacksonville Icemen played host to their in-state rival, the Orlando Solar Bears at the Vystar Veterans Memorial Arena. It was Marvel Superheroes Night in Jacksonville as the Icemen sported Spiderman jerseys against the Black Panther-outfitted Solar Bears. It turned out to not be a good night for the home team as Orlando came away with a 3-0 victory.
Following a scoreless first period that featured the goaltenders – Michael McNiven for Jacksonville and Zach Fucale for Orlando – the visitors struck for a pair of goals in the second. The first was a shorthanded tally off the stick of Solar Bears Alexey Lipanov who converted the rebound of a redirect by defenseman Cody Donaghey at the 6:55 mark.
Late in the middle period, Orlando added a second man-down goal when Hunter Fejes forced a turnover, got loose and netted the Solar Bears second score of the frame at 18:43 to send his team to the final frame with a 2-0 lead.
The Solar Bears were able to hold off the Icemen in the third period as Fucale, who made 25 saves, stopped all nine Jacksonville shots on net. Trevor Olson finished the scoring with a length of the ice goal into an empty net with one second remaining.
McNiven, who was assigned to the Icemen by Montreal earlier in the week, played a solid game between the pipes. He stopped 34 of 36 Orlando shots in suffering the loss.
Contact the photojournalist at trina.kirk@prohockeynews.com
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