NORTH CHARLESTON, SC – In its first four games at home, the Orlando Solar Bears had problems scoring goals. Even with putting more than 50 shots on net in back-to-back games, the Solar Bears lit the goal light just five times last weekend.
Apparently all the team needed was a bus trip and a road game to solve its offensive woes.
Orlando scored six times in the first two periods and coasted to a 6-2 win over the South Carolina Stingrays Tuesday night in front of an announced crowd of 1,831 at the North Charleston Coliseum. Rookie defenseman Nikolas Brouillard led the scoring parade with a goal and three assists while Brett Findlay, Denver Manderson, Eric Faille and Patrick Watling all had multiple point nights for the Solar Bears (2-3-0-0, 4 points). Both of Orlando’s wins this season have come at the expense of the Stingrays (1-4-1-0, 3 points).
South Carolina opened the scoring 5:44 into the first period. John Parker started the sequence with a steal and entrance into the Orlando defensive end. He then proceeded to make a drop pass to Steven McParland and McParland did the rest, rocketing a wrist shot past Solar Bears starting goalie Ryan Massa. For McParland, it was his first goal of the season.
Massa, who was pulled early in the second period of Orlando’s previous game, made a huge right pad save on Stingrays sniper Kelly Zajac. The save seemed to spur his teammates on and they rewarded their netminder at the 9:00 mark. Findlay laid a perfect pass to Brouillard who drove the puck over the glove hand of South Carolina goalie Adam Carlson for his second score of the year. Another rookie blueliner, Jon Jutzi, picked up his first professional point with the secondary assist on the play.
Less than two minutes later, the deluge of Solar Bears goals began. While on a power play thanks to a penalty to the Stingrays’ Marcus Perrier, Brouillard saucered a pass to Patrick Watling who drilled a one-timer into the back of the net for his second goal in as many starts this season.
Ahead 2-1 heading into the middle frame, Orlando’s intensity went up several notches. Just 1:37 in, Carlson made a save on Ty Stanton but the rebound came out to Brouillard who was cruising down near the net. Brouillard, who was just as good a playmaker as he was a goal scorer in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, deftly passed the puck to a wide open Faille who drove it home for his first of the year and Brouillard’s third point of the game. The assist for Stanton was his first point as a member of the Solar Bears.
A couple of minutes later, Manderson made a perfect stretch pass to spring Findlay on a clean breakaway. Findlay drove down the slot, made a move and slid the puck under Carlson for his second score of the season and 4-1 Orlando lead just 3:54 into the period. The goal ended the night for Carlson, who was replaced by Parker Milner in net.
Another South Carolina penalty – this one to Trevor Gillies – allowed the Solar Bears another chance with the man advantage and the visitors made the Stingrays pay. Findlay and Brouillard combined to move the puck to Manderson who lit the goal light for the first time in the 2016-17 campaign to up the lead to 5-1. Eighty-two seconds later, Watling left a pretty drop pass for defenseman Brenden Miller who walked in and scored his first to expand the margin to five and the game was only 6:31 into the second stanza.
Orlando’s penalty killing, which entered the game not doing as well as head coach Anthony Noreen had hoped, faced a test a minute and a half after the Miller goal. With Jutzi already in the penalty box, captain Eric Baier was called for tripping, giving South Carolina 1:28Â of five-on-three advantage time. The Solar Bears killed off both penalties, allowing just one shot during the extended kill time before Perrier managed to sneak past Massa seven seconds after the kill. Perrier’s first of the season made it 6-2.
The final period was played in a tight, defensive manner which was exactly how the Solar Bears wanted things. Massa, who Noreen expected to have a solid bounce back game, proved his coach to be correct as he turned away all six Stingrays shots in the third on the way to a 24-save victory.
Notes: Orlando finished the night 2-for-7 on the power play while South Carolina went 0-for-6…Orlando’s streak of consecutive periods with at least 15 shots on net stopped at seven as the Solar Bears were held to eight in the opening period on Tuesday…Former Solar Bears netminder Rob Madore, who retired following last season and settled in the Charleston area, was at the game as a guest of his former student Massa…Orlando will stay in the Palmetto state to take on the Greenville Swamp Rabbits in a special school day game on Tuesday. Puck drop is set for 10:30 a.m.
Contact the author at don.money@prohockeynews.com
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