TULSA, OK – On Friday night in Allen, Orlando Solar Bears Head Coach and General Manager Drake Berehowsky was hoping for and got a gutsy performance from his short-handed roster in a win over the Americans. Sunday afternoon, sitting in the very same position with just 13 skaters available, Berehowsky presumably was hoping for a similar effort and outcome against the Tulsa Oilers.
Berehowsky, it appears, again spoke the magic words and for the second straight contest, got exactly wanted from his presumably exhausted troops.
Five different Solar Bears lit the goal light, including Luke Boka whose tally was the game-winner, as Orlando (13-10-1-0) came away with a 5-2 victory over Tulsa (11-9-0-1) in front of an announced crowd of 5,028 at the BOK Center. Among the goal scorers for the Solar Bears were defenseman Andrew McLean who netted his first career ECHL tally while playing forward and Jake Transit who bagged his second pro goal in as many games. Forward Kyle Topping also added four assists in the contest.
Orlando goalie Zach Emond, playing for the second consecutive game with just an emergency backup on the bench behind him, stopped 40 of 42 Oilers shots to pick up the win. It gave him a perfect 2-0 record for the week with a 2.00 goals against average and a .949 save percentage.
Saturday’s second game in Allen was postponed because of an injury to defenseman Luke McInnis Friday night that left him unavailable to play. With no time to get a replacement, the Solar Bears did not have the minimum number of players to dress which forced the league to postpone the contest. Berehowsky was able to contact former Solar Bear Rich Boyd who signed and was rushed to Tulsa to be the 13th skater on Sunday.
Tulsa got on the board first at the 6:02 mark of the opening period. Alex Kromm worked the puck up the near boards from down low, skating unchallenged to the top of the near side circle in the Orlando defensive zone. He saw teammate Jordan Ernst all alone at the top of the other circle and feathered a pass to Ernst who stepped into a one-time slap shot that beat Emond through traffic and off the crossbar for his fourth goal of the season.
Orlando came back just over two minutes with a score of its own. Led by Topping, the Solar Bears skated into the Tulsa on a two-on-three rush. Topping dove into the lower part of the near side faceoff circle and then curled back. He spotted McLean, who was playing as a forward, cruising into the slot. Topping found McLean who took the feed, calmed the puck down and drilled a shot past Oiler netminder Kai Edmonds for his first-ever ECHL tally to even things at 1-1.
Early in the second, it was time for Transit to once again that Berehowsky had made a smart move by signing the Ferris State product. The sequence began with a rush that led to a shot by Transit that Edmonds thwarted. The Oilers tried to clear but Solar Bears defenseman Michael Brodzinski knocked the puck down and fired a shot on net. Again Edmonds made the stop but Transit cleaned up the rebound, jamming it into the cage for his second score in two games.
Eighty-five seconds later, Tulsa was on a power play and cashed in on the opportunity. After an Orlando short-handed rush was foiled, the Oilers came flying back on a three-on-one break. Adam Pleskach carried into the Solar Bears end on the right wing and passed back to Darren McCormick in the middle. McCormick immediately sent the puck to Jack Doremus who buried a one-timer past Emond for a power play score and his 11th goal of the season.
The visitors took control for good in the back half of the middle frame. Putting on some pressure in the Tulsa end, Dmitry Semykin stopped a clearing attempt by the Oilers at the point and right away heaved a shot on net. Topping got his stick on the rebound and forced Edmonds to make a second save. The rebound of Topping’s try bounced to the base of the far side circle where Boka controlled it and while falling away from the net put it in for his sixth of the year and a 3-2 lead heading into the second intermission.
Emond and Edmonds (29 saves) went toe-to-toe through much of the third and final period, matching save for save. As time began to draw low, Tulsa Head Coach Rob Murray pulled Edmonds for an extra attacker. With just over 30 seconds left, Topping won a defensive zone draw back to Brodzinski who skated the puck to the near boards before launching it the length of the ice and in for his fifth goal of the season. Then in the final ten seconds, Topping intercepted a Tulsa pass in the Orlando end and sent it to Aaron Luchuk who fired the puck into the empty Oilers cage from the center ice stripe for his 11th goal of the 21-22 season to close out the scoring.
The Solar Bears will return home on Monday to prepare for their final game before the Christmas break on Tuesday against Atlanta at the Amway Center. It will be Orlando’s Teddy Bear Toss game (fans are encouraged to bring new or lightly used stuffed animals to toss on the ice after the Solar Bears first goal) as well as the team’s premiere of its ugly sweater jerseys. Game time is set for 7 p.m.
Notes: Final shots were 42-34 in favor of Tulsa… Orlando went 0-for-1 on the power play while Tulsa was 1-for-2… It was the first time the Solar Bears had visited Tulsa and just the second time the franchises had met, the first being on January 17, 2015 at the Amway Center (Orlando won the game 6-4)… Luchuk’s empty net goal gave him his second in as many games… McLean (1 goal, 3 assists), Topping (4 assists), Joe Garreffa (2 goals, 2 assists) and Braydon Barker (4 assists) all tied for top scorer for the week for Orlando… The win was just the second time the Solar Bears recorded a victory after giving up the first goal of the game to their opponents.
Contact the author at don.money@prohockeynews.com
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