ORLANDO, FLA – The Orlando Solar Bears entered Friday night’s game against the Florida Everblades with two objectives in mind: finish off their long ten-game homestand with a victory and collect stuffed animals that will be given to children across Central Florida who could use a smile this holiday season.
Brock Montgomery celebrates his “Teddy Bear Toss” goal Friday night (Photo courtesy of G. Bassing & F.Medina / Orlando Solar Bears)
Suffice it to say both tasks were completed quite successfully.
Led by Denver Manderson’s two goals and a score and an assist from both Brock Montgomery and Chris Crane, the Solar Bears (11-5-2-0, 24 points) defended their den by knocking off the South Division leading Florida Everblades (12-3-1-2, 27 points) 5-2 in front of a very festive announced crowd of 6,356 at the Amway Center. The victory allowed Orlando to cap off a 7-2-1-0 stretch in its own building, including moving its current winning streak to five games and unbeaten string to seven under “new” head coach Drake Berehowsky.
“I think anytime there’s a coaching change, as players we felt a little responsible. I think that we wish we had played better right from the start of the year,” Manderson said about the team’s reversal of fortunes at home. “Since Drake’s been here, everybody’s accountable. It’s almost like we have a really skilled team but he he’s trying to dull it down and make it simple and just try to get pucks behind them. Once you do that, I think skill takes over a little bit.”
The Solar Bears performance, much like it has been since Berehowsky replaced Anthony Noreen, was as much about the home team subjecting the opposition to its will as it has been skill. While the opponents have ranged in their level of play, watching Orlando push around a very good Florida squad had the fans absolutely delirious with joy from start to finish.
The start of the contest was not exactly how Berehowsky drew it up as the Everblades dropped four shots on Solar Bears goalie Ryan Massa – who earlier in the day had been named the ECHL Goalie of the Month for November – in short order. Massa stood up to each shot, allowing his teammates to get their legs underneath them.
It took just one shot for Orlando to get on the board and that drive came from a fairly unexpected source. When a Florida defenseman slipped and fell while trying to play the puck behind his net, Solar Bears speedy forward Austin Block swooped in to grab control of the disc. He looked up and saw Montgomery, who was out on his first shift in his first game of the season, cruising down the slot. Block’s pass was true and Montongomery blew a shot past Everblades netminder Anthony Peters for his first goal of the year and an early Solar Bears lead.
“I’ve been trying to just stay positive the whole season. I was out with a little bit of an injury there as well. It’s not how you want to start a season, “Montgomery said about his late start to the year. “I saw the guys out there battling every night and I wanted to be out there really bad. Watching those guys, watching how hard they battled, I just wanted to be able to contribute with them. It feels great to get the first one under the belt for sure.”
The goal also started the avalanche of stuffed animals as teddy bears of every size, shape and color hit the ice along with a multitude of other creatures that will soon find their way under Christmas trees throughout the area.
Montgomery’s tally was the only score of the opening period and with the way that both Massa and Peters settled in, it might well have been the only goal of the entire game. Neither goalie was ready to watch any more rubber end up in the back of the net, taking the game well into the second period at 1-0 in favor of the home team.
The Solar Bears began to blow the game wide open with two goals in a span of just over two minutes late in the middle frame. The first came when Joe Perry sent the puck around the boards behind the net to Brett Findlay who was backing his way toward the corner. Findlay quickly laid a perfect pass to the slot where Manderson collected it and drilled a shot top corner to Peters’ glove side for his eighth of the season.
Soon after, Montgomery and Crane worked a perfect two-man game into the Florida defensive zone. Montgomery took the puck deep into the faceoff circle to Peters’ right and dropped a feed for Crane who stepped into a shot that he buried in the back of the net for his sixth of the year and third since joining the Solar Bears.
Florida finally got on the board at the 16:35 mark of the period when Matt Berry set up recently acquired Danny New who unleashed a hard shot from the circle to Massa’s left for his initial score in an Everblades uniform. At the end of two, the Solar Bears led 3-1 but the story at that point was the Orlando defense, which had held Florida’s high-powered offense to just twenty shots on Massa in forty minutes.
“They’re playing hard [and] they’re not having too many turnovers. I think we’ve limited our turnovers. We’re getting pucks out and our forwards are doing a good job tracking [the puck],” Berehowsky said. “The guys are working hard. They’re keeping it simple and we’re sticking to it. That’s why we’re having success I believe.”
Manderson picked up his second of the night four minutes into the third when he picked up a loose puck, skated it into the Everblades end and unleashed a rocket that beat Peters (31 saves) cleanly. Then with just under nine minutes left in regulation, Crane and Patrick Watling worked a give-and-go with Watling finishing off the play with his fifth score of the year to push the lead to four.
Florida did get one more score as Michael Kirkpatrick won an offensive zone face-off back to former Solar Bear Adam Brace who nailed a shot from the top of the circle past Massa. Brace’s first goal with the Everblades closed out the scoring.
With the win, Massa (25 saves) took over sole possession of the ECHL Solar Bears top spot for wins by a goalie at 27, one more than Garret Sparks who is now in the AHL and has started games in the NHL. Despite the individual accolades, the second year goalie of of the University of Nebraska-Omaha said it is the team goals that are much more important.
“Right now, my focus is with the group. We’ve had an unbelievable month of November. The guys have really come together, played together [and] made my job significantly easier,” he said. “Certainly the number one prize on everyone’s mind here is competing for a championship and the Kelly Cup, making the playoffs – areas that we weren’t able to achieve last season. I think those are what everyone including myself has our sights on.”
The two teams will head down Interstate 75 to Estero, Florida Saturday night for a return match and game three of this year’s Wawa Sunshine Cup series. Puck drop is set for 7 p.m.
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