INDIANAPOLIS, IN – Saturday night’s ECHL contest between the Orlando Solar Bears and the Indy Fuel was suspended with 5:04 remaining in the first period due to ice issues.
At the time of the suspension, Orlando was ahead 2-0 in the contest on goals by Michael Joly and Tristin Langan. Joly’s was his second in two games with the Solar Bears while Langan’s was his 19th of the season.
The teams were sent to their respective locker rooms while the staff at the Indiana Farmers Coliseum attempted to get the ice back to a safe playing condition. After utilizing the zambonis, the coaches from both teams along with the game officials and building staff determined that the ice was still not safe, causing the suspension.
As of Saturday night, the final game of the three-game set between the Solar Bears and Fuel scheduled for Sunday afternoon at 3 p.m. was still expected to be played. Fans were asked to retain their tickets for a possible rescheduling or potentially refund options. Orlando is scheduled to fly home on Monday morning.
Saturday’s suspension was the second time in the past month at the Indiana Farmers Coliseum with the first – a game between Indy and the Wheeling Nailers – being cancelled and eliminated from the teams’ schedules. Wheeling also had a pair of games with the South Carolina Stingrays at WesBanco Arena cancelled and eliminated from schedules for similar issues.
Coincidentally, the Indiana Farmers Coliseum was used during much of the month of March as one of four venues in Indianapolis for the NCAA Mens basketball tournament “bubble”.
Because of the staggered start for teams due to COVID-19 issues, the ECHL had decided early on to amend its playoff qualification rules to be based on point percentage (number of points earned divided by number of points available in games played). The percentages will determine which four teams from each conference will compete for the Kelly Cup starting in early June.
Pro Hockey News will provide further updates on the status of the game as they become available.
Contact the author at don.money@prohockeynews.com
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