ORLANDO, FLA – If the Orlando Solar Bears get to meet the South Carolina Stingrays in the ECHL Kelly Cup playoffs, the two teams will most certainly give the fans a show. For now anyway, Orladndo will have to be content with knowing they can be just as good as the squad that now owns the league record for consecutive wins.
Friday night at the Amway Center, it took an overtime goal by Michal Cajkovsky for South Carolina to defeat the Solar Bears by a 3-2 final. What the 6,424 fans left with was the knowledge that Orlando is just three points away from securing a playoff spot.
“They’re a good hockey club. I thought we did a lot of really good things,” Solar Bears head coach Vince Williams said. “Three regulation goals in two games, that’s not a bad stat to have. That’s part of that kind of playoff hockey.”
One of the positives once again was the play of Orlando’s netminder. Following Garret Sparks’ performance on Thursday, Maxime Clermont played more than well enough to win, making 33 saves including 17 in a third period barrage by the Stingrays (44-19-1-6, 95 points) to give Orlando (35-23-6-4, 80 points) a chance to win.
“Maxie came up with some big saves in the second period and the third period as well,” Williams said. “I thought Maxie did a really good job tonight.”
The game got off to a better start for the Solar Bears than Thursday’s contest. Working on a power play eight minutes in, defenseman Eric Baier drove a shot from the blue line that found its way past South Carolina goalie Keegan Asmundson for the night’s first tally.
The lead lasted a little over three minutes before the visitors got the equalizer. It came when Rob Bellamy backhanded a pass from the end boards to Patrick Gaul who was open in front. Gaul’s wrist shot from the slot found the back of the net, tying the score at one.
The Stingrays took the lead less than a minute into the middle frame. Defenseman Jason Binkley lined up a shot from the point that managed to avoid some traffic in front of Clermont and sailed into the net.
Midway through the period, some hard work by the host Solar Bears led to the game-tying score. Brett Findlay had a good opportunity that Asmundson (21 saves) turned away. Both Brock Montgomery and Peter Sivak headed for the crease and when the puck squirted loose, Sivak was there to corral it and fire it home.
The momentum that Orlando built by outshooting South Carolina 16-4 in the second period vanished in the third. The Stingrays came out hard and aided by two power plays outshot the Solar Bears 17-2 in the frame. Clermont almost single-handedly got the homr team into free hockey time with several clutch saves.
He was not however lucky in the overtime. Just 25 seconds in, the puck came free from a scrum along the boards. Cajkovsky skated in from the point and into a one-time blast that beat Clermont in the blink of an eye to end the contest.
With the point gained by going into OT, Orlando’s magic number for locking up the fourth seed in the East division fell to three points. Clermont said that if both he and Sparks play at or above the level they have shown, the Solar Bears will be a formidable opponent in the post-season.
“From my experience, I think the two of us together are a solid duo. I don’t want to say we’re the best but I think we’re up there,” Clermont said. “With the team we have, if the two of us can play well I think we’re in good shape.”
Orlando will have another shot at closing in on the playoffs Saturday night when the Reading Royals come to the City Beautiful. The 7 p.m. puck drop will be preceded by the Solar Bears Celebrity Hockey Classic featuring former NHL goalies Curtis Joseph and Alan Bester (who is also a former IHL Solar Bear) which starts at 3:30 p.m.
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