ORLANDO, FLA – Through the early part of the 2021-22 season, the Orlando Solar Bears have been hit or miss on offense. There have been points where getting goals has been fairly easy while at others it has been a struggle. Saturday night at the Amway Center was one of those easy nights, which was good because the Solar Bears needed it.
Five different Solar Bears lit the goal light as Orlando (6-5-1-0) battled hard and hung on for a 5-4 win over the Maine Mariners (5-4-2-0) in front of an announced crowd of 6,336. Tyler Bird, Steenn Pasichnuk, Kevin Lohan, Luke Boka and Michael Brodzinski each scored once with Brodzinski’s empty net tally with less than three minutes to go ending up being the margin of victory. The win was Orlando’s fourth straight at home to begin the year, a new high water mark for the franchise.
The spreading of the wealth on the scoresheet came at an important point as Aaron Luchuk, the team and league leader in scoring through eleven games, was held scoreless for the first time this season. Part of the reason was an injury that put Luchuk in the locker room for a good deal of the final frame before he returned to the bench. Heading into Saturday’s tilt, Luchuk had had a hand in 54 percent of the goals scored by the team (19 of 35) to open the season.
Following a scoreless and non-descript opening frame, the game started to open up early in the second period. With the Solar Bears killing a penalty, they turned it into offense when Brodzinski sent Bird flying up the wing. Bird used his speed to turn a defender and cut toward the net. As Maine goalie Zach Bouthillier went down to try to cut Bird off, he drew the puck around the netminder’s left leg pad and tucked it into the cage for his sixth tally of the season.
Maine, playing in its fourth game in five days in Florida, responded at the 11:21 mark. The Mariners’ Michael Kim sent Justin Brazeau out on a rush that turned into a two-on-two situation. Brazeau skated into the Orlando end and as the defense backed off, he glided into the faceoff circle to the left of Solar Bears goalie Zach Emond and fired a hard shot that beat Emond for his fifth of the year.
Orlando regained the lead five minutes later thanks to some gritty work. The Solar Bears had the Mariners pinned in their end. Ian Parker dug the puck off the half boards and drove to the slot, leaving an opponent in his wake. Parker eventually put a backhander on net that Bouthillier stopped but failed to control the rebound. Pasichnuk was standing at the top of the crease and popped it into the open side of the net for his third and a 2-1 lead.
That lead lasted less than two minutes when Orlando’s Cole Moberg took a slashing penalty trying to stop Brazeau on a break-in. On the ensuing power play the Mariners – who carried the best man advantage success rate in the league going in – tied the score when Victor Berglund sailed a shot from the point thru traffic and past Emond for his first of the season.
For those in the stands who like scoring, a four goal middle frame was fun. It was just the precursor of things to come in the third. Less than 30 seconds into the period, the Solar Bears took the lead for good. Some hard forechecking down low behind the Maine net caused a turnover. The puck ended up squirting out into the slot where Kevin Lohan dropped in from the point and fired it home for his second tally of the year.
The margin grew to 4-2 soon after when Bird fired a shot from a bad angle that hit Bouthillier’s pads and caromed away. Boka was there waiting and put everything he had into a shot that nestled into the twine for his second at the 2:41 mark.
With eight minutes remaining, Luchuk had to be helped off the ice to the locker room, a sight that had the fans angry that there was no penalty assessed. Orlando seemed to be weathering the loss well but with 3:24 left in regulation and Bouthillier (23 saves) on the bench for an estra attacker, Cam Askew threw a shot on net from a bad angle. Somehow it snuck past Emond for Askew’s fifth to make it a one goal game.
After the ensuing faceoff, the Mariners got the puck into the Orlando end and started to bring their netminder back to the bench. As Bouthillier started off, Brodzinski got control and sailed the puck out from the goal line. Despite a diving effort by Bouthillier trying to get back, Brodzinski’s clear settled into the open net for the defenseman’s fourth goal of the season to make it 5-3.
Maine refused to give up, pulling Bouthillier a third time and succeeding when Brazeau redirected a shot by Pascal Laberge home for his second of the night and sixth of the season. It came with 32 ticks left on the clock but it was not quite enough time to find one more score as Emond (21 saves) and his teammates held on to get the victory.
Orlando is off until Tuesday when the Solar Bears head to Duluth, GA to take on the Atlanta Gladiators.
Notes: Final shots were 28-25 in favor of Orlando… The Mariners went 1-for-2 with the power play while the Solar Bears did not get a chance with a man advantage. It was the third time this season that Orlando did not get a power play in a game… Bird’s short-handed goal in the second period was the team’s first of the season… In roster news, goalie Alex Dubeau was suspended by the Solar Bears and removed from the roster. Dubeau had been released from his tryout contract with the AHL Syracuse Crunch on Thursday.
Contact the author at don.money@prohockeynews.com
Follow us on Twitter @prohockeynews
You must be logged in to post a comment.