GREENVILLE, SC – Every ECHL head coach hopes that he can have at least one solid goaltender that he can depend on. If that netminder happens to be assigned by the team’s NHL and AHL affiliates, there better be an insurance policy in case of a callup.
Saturday night at the Bon Secours Wellness Arena, Orlando Solar Bears Head Coach and General Manager Drake Berehowsky found out that he does have a backup who can hold his own.
Rookie goalie Corbin Boes, making just his second professional start, turned away 36 shots to record his first pro win and shutout as the Solar Bears (5-3-1-0) whitewashed the host Greenville Swamp Rabbits 4-0 in front of an announced crowd of 3,312. Fellow rookie Brent Pedersen did his part with a goal and an assist as did teammates Brady Shaw and Cody Donaghey who both lit the goal light and added a helper to the cause.
Boes, who Berehowsky coached when both were with the WHL’s Lethbridge Hurricanes five years ago, had not played since his inaugural start back on October 16th. He played admirably in a 6-5 loss to South Carolina that night and with Orlando playing the back side of a back-to-back with a game next Tuesday looming, Berehowsky saw an opportuinty to give workhorse netminder Martin Ouellette a night off after starting the last five contests.
The Solar Bears bench boss was rewarded as Boes, who played his college hockey at Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia seemed locked in from the opening faceoff, making ten saves in the first period.
Orlando got all the offense it would need when defenseman Etienne Boutet notched his second goal of the season midway through the opening stanza. Troy Bourke sent a pass back to the blueline where Boutet got control and sent it toward Greenville goalie Devin Buffalo. With Shaw providing a distraction in the slot, Boutet’s soft flip found its way between Buffalo’s legs into the net.
The visiting Solar Bears douled their lead less than a minute into the middle frame. With an extra attacker on during a delayed penalty on the Swamp Rabbits, Shaw drove down low in the Greenville end and wired a pass to the front of the net. Donaghey, one of four players assigned to Orlando by San Jose, had come in from the point and was in the right spot to jam the puck home for his first tally of the season.
With Boes doing everything in his power to keep the puck out of his net, Orlando was able to be patient and look for opportunities to break the game wide open. The first such chance came with six minutes left in the second when Greenville’s Michael Pelech took a penalty, giving the Solar Bears a power play.
Having netted a man advantage goal Friday night, the Solar Bears were thirsting for more and Pedersen was just the man to give them what they wanted. Michael Brodzinski made a cross-ice pass to Donaghey who lined up a hard slap slot. Pedersen, who was stationed just outside the crease, got his stick on the puck and sent it into the back of the net for his fourth of the year, three of them coming the the last four games.
Orlando put a cap on the night’s scoring early in the third with its second power play goal of the night. It came when Bourke (two assists) zipped a pass from below the goal line to the front of the net where Shaw was waiting to bang the disc past Buffalo for his fourth of the year.
The four goal margin upped the tensions between the two divisional rivals and it nearly spilled over when Orlando’s Curt Gogol drove a Swamp Rabbits player into the boards. He was immediately challenged by Greenville’s Stephen Pierog but before they could throw down, Solar Bears forward Vincent Dunn stepped in and filled the dance card. Both Dunn and Pierog earned double minors while Gogol was sent off for two minutes.
The ensuing power play was just the chance the Swamp Rabbits needed to breakup the shutout but Boes and his teammates were having none of it. They skillfully killed off the penalty to finish the night a perfect 5-for-5 and Boes stopped all 14 shots he faced in the final period to secure his big night.
Notes: Final shots were 36-32 in favor of Greenville… Boes became the first ECHL Solar Bears rookie goalie to post a shutout since Kasimir Kaskisuo accomplished the fete on November 10, 2016 against South Carolina… The win was part of an affiliation sweep on Saturday as both the NHL Tampa Bay Lightning and AHL Syracuse Crunch were victorious… The two power play goals matched Orlando’s season high for a single game, equaling the two tallies scored in Boes’ first start… Donaghey (three games) and Pedersen (five games) both extended their individual point streaks… The Solar Bears return home to face the 6-1 Jacksonville Icemen on Tuesday in their annual School Day morning game. Puck drop is set for 10:30 a.m.
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