ESTERO, FLA – One night removed from their first win of the season, the Orlando Solar Bears headed into enemy territory Saturday night with a visit to Estero and Hertz Arena, the home of the Florida Everblades. The visitors from Central Florida put up a good effort but a second straight victory just was not in the cards.
Fueled by a near perfect performance in net by goalie Ken Appleby, the host Everblades (4-1-0-0) came away with a thrilling 2-1 shootout victory over the Solar Bears (1-3-0-1) in front of an announced crowd of 5,534. Trevor Olson scored the lone goal for Orlando and netminder Zach Fucale put in an effort worthy of a win, stopping 28 of 29 Florida shots through 67 minutes of play before being beaten twice in the deciding skills competition.
Florida’s Blake Winiecki beat Fucale between the legs on the first shot of the shootout, giving the Everblades the advantage when Appleby denied Orlando rookie Jimmy Huntington. After a pair of stops in round two, Zach Magwood ended the contest with a wicked wrist shot that hit the top corner of the cage.
The host Everblades, smarting after losing on Friday night in the City Beautiful, let the Solar Bears know the game was underway early when Kyle Neuber slammed Orlando forward Dylan Fitze in front of the Florida bench. Fitze had to be helped to the bench but returned to action later in the opening frame.
The hit was one of the loudest moments of the first period as shots and scoring chances were at a premium. The two rivals combined for a total of nine shots on net – six for Florida and three for Orlando – all of which failed to find their way across the goal line.
The middle stanza was a bit more lively as both teams began to try to open up their offenses. Fucale had a memorable save when he denied Michael Huntebrinker on the way to another perfect period with eight saves. At the other end, Appleby was just as tough to beat, stopping all nine Orlando attempts on net to keep the game scoreless after forty minutes of play.
The Solar Bears were the first to dent the scoreboard, getting a little bit of luck to earn the game’s first score. At the 6:33 mark of the third, Tristin Langan carried the puck into the Everblades’ defensive zone and sent a shot careening toward the net. Olson was in the right place at the right time as the disc hit his skate and skidded past Appleby for his first goal of the season.
With the way that Fucale was playing, Orlando looked like it was in prime position to come away with a huge road win but the hockey gods had other plans. With 7:28 remaining in regulation, the Everblades mounted a foray into the Solar Bears end. Ben Masella got around a defender and put a shot on net that Fucale fended off. The rebound got away from Fucale just far enough that Huntebrinker was able to get to it and send it into the net for his third of the year, tying the contest up at one.
The visitors had a chance late in the frame to effectively end the game when the Solar Bears were given a power play. Orlando was not able to capitalize on the man advantage and the contest went into overtime.
The teams traded opportunities during the now seven-minute extra period with Fucale making a sprawling right leg save to deny Alex Tonge of a game-winning tally. Then with 1:56 left, the Solar Bears went on yet another power play – this one being a four-on-three since the extra period is played at three-on-three – with a chance for a skate-off victory. The Everblades dug in and held Orlando off during the man advantage to send the game into the shootout.
Appleby finished the night with 27 saves on 28 shots faced plus stopping both Orlando tries in the shootout to post his third win of the season against no losses. Fucale, who has now allowed just three goals in two starts, saw his record fall to 0-1-0-1.
Notes: Final shots were 30-28 in favor of Florida… The Solar Bears went 0-for-4 on the power play while the Everblades went 0-for-2… With his performance in regulation and overtime, Fucale upped his save percentage to .947, which puts him third in the league in that category…The victory was Florida Head Coach Brad Ralph’s 81st win at home, the most among current ECHL coaches during the last four seasons… With the win, the Everblades improved their record against the Solar Bears to 62-25-7… The shootout loss by Orlando was just part of a long night for the Solar Bears and their affiliates. The Tampa Bay Lightning fell to the Nashville Predators 3-2 in overtime while their AHL affiliate, the Syracuse Crunch, lost to Rochester 7-6 in overtime… The Solar Bears are back in action Tuesday night when they host the Jacksonville Icemen at 7 p.m. at the Amway Center.
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