ORLANDO, FLA – Heading into Friday night, the Orlando Solar Bears knew that the three-game wraparound set with the Greenville Swamp Rabbits was big. If Orlando could keep Greenville from picking up and points while taking six of its own, the swing in points percentage could drastically change the ECHL’s Eastern conference standing in the Solar Bears favor.
Unfortunately for the home team and its COVID-restricted crowd of 2,250 at the Amway Center, Orlando did not get what it wanted to come away with.
Matt Bradley’s goal 3:29 into overtime was the difference as Greenville (28-16-11-3) came away with a 3-2 victory over the Solar Bears (29-21-5-1). With the win, the Swamp Rabbits gained a little bit more room in their battle with the Indy Fuel for second place in the division while Orlando remained in fourth place with Jacksonville again breathing on its collective necks.
Kevin Lohan and Matthew Spencer, two defensemen who are known more for their defensive zone play, netted the goals for Orlando in regulation. Goalie Clint Windsor made 34 saves on 37 Greenville shots but took the loss as Swamp Rabbits netminder John Lethemon stopped 28 of 30 to get the victory.
With a lot on the line, it was the home-standing Solar Bears who entered the scoring column first. At the 5:43 mark of the opening frame, Orlando worked the puck around the perimeter and back to Lohan at the blueline. With Aaron Luchuk dragging a defenseman with him in front of Lethemon, Lohan released a shot that found its way past the Greenville goalie for his second goal of the season.
It was the lone goal of the period thanks to Lethemon. Although he faced just ten Orlando shots, the Solar Bears would have had a much bigger lead thanks to the man between the pipes for the visitors. He stoned the Solar Bears on a two-on-none shorthanded break-in to keep the game at a one-goal difference. He also got some help when Greenville defenseman (and former Solar Bear) Sam Jardine blocked a sure Solar Bears goal with Lethemon down and out.
The one-goal Orlando lead lasted through almost the first ten minutes of the middle frame. Under intense pressure from the Swamp Rabbits – pressure that eventually led to a 19-9 shot advantage – Windsor was beaten for the first time at the 9:55 juncture of the period. Coming off of a counterattack, Jardine skated the puck into the Orlando end. As he got into the far side faceoff circle, he saw Greg Meireles across the ice trailing the play. Jardine put a pass on Meireles’ stick and a couple of seconds later, the wide open Meireles ripped a wrist shot high to Windsor’s stick side for his 10th goal of the season.
Just over five minutes later, Greenville took its first lead of the night. Again the play came off a counterattack when Jack Sadek fed a pass to Bryce Reddick. Reddick had enough room to take a couple of strides and from the top of the near side faceoff circle lasered a slapshot over Windsor’s left shoulder for his third of the year to make it 2-1 Greenville heading to the third period.
Orlando came out hard in the final frame and pulled even just 45 ticks into the stanza. Michael Joly got the puck back to Spencer who found a shooting lane. With Lethemon dealing with traffic in front, Spencer’s drive found the back of the net for his fourth tally of the season and a 2-2 tie.
Both teams played well defensively during the final 19 minutes of regulation time, sending the contest to extra time where Greenville has made a very good living this season. Lethemon turned away two Orlando shots, setting the stage for Bradley. Taking advantage of the room created by the three-on-three format of overtime, Jardine dropped a pass to Bradley at the midpoint of the blueline. Bradley drifted a little further to his right and in a stride or two before unleashing a wicked slapper. With Windsor’s attention drawn by a pair of players passing in front, the puck whistled past the netminder for Bradley’s 15th goal of the year and the win.
The victory elevated Greenville’s point percentage to .603, keeping pace with first place Florida (a 6-5 overtime winner over South Carolina Friday night) and extending its lead over Indy at .587 thanks to a loss to Fort Wayne. Orlando dropped slightly to .571, still good enough to maintain fourth place while Jacksonville crept slightly closer to .556 after a win over West Virginia.
The Solar Bears and Swamp Rabbits will meet for the 10th time of 11 scheduled meetings Saturday night at the Amway Center at 7 p.m. The game is Orlando’s “Military Appreciation Night”.
Contact the author at don.money@prohockeynews.com
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