DULUTH, GA – If working hard enough to guarantee getting at least one point in the standings was worth something, the Orlando Solar Bears would have plenty of reward points in the bank. Four times in their last six games, the Solar Bears have gone beyond regulation time to decide a winner. Trouble is there are no rewards for the extra work, just tired bodies.
Friday night at the Infinite Energy Arena in Duluth, Orlando scored twice in the third period – including one with 34.7 left to tie the game – but fell short in a shootout as the host Atlanta Gladiators (10-7-1-0, 21 points) defeated the Solar Bears (8-4-1-3, 20 points) 4-3. Former Solar Bear J.T. Barnett haunted his old team, scoring the only goal in the shootout to send the announced crowd of 4,137 home happy.
Johnny McInnis, Eric Baier and Eric Faille scored the regulation time goals for Orlando, which lost its third consecutive contest, albeit getting a point in two of the three games. Goalie Rob Madore once again played well enough to win, stopping 33 of the 36 shots he faced.
Coming off a loss on Thanksgiving night, the Gladiators wanted to get off on the right skate against their South division foes. An early power play was just what the doctor ordered and Atlanta made its visitors pay when Thomas Frazee redirected a Derek Nesbitt shot past Madore’s blocker glove during the man advantage for his third goal of the season.
Gladiators netminder Matt Ginn looked ready to make that tally stand up, keeping the visitors off the scoreboard until late in the opening period. At the 17:40 mark, Matt Rupert fired a shot at the Atlanta net that McInnis redirected home for his fifth of the year to even things up at one.
Madore opened the second period by stoning Gladiators forward Brock Higgs on a clean breakaway before the frame was two minutes old. It would be another Atlanta power play that would be the Orlando goalie’s undoing a short time later when Nesbitt threaded a shot from the top of the left circle through traffic and into the back of the net. It was Nesbitt’s tenth of the season and the sixth power play goal allowed by Orlando’s penalty killers in its last nine times short handed.
The teams traded jabs throughout a good portion of the middle frame until the 14:50 mark whe Mike Merrifield tipped a Joe Stejskal shot on Madore who made the save. The rebound came right back to Merrifield who put the puck between the goalie’s legs to give the Gladiators a two goal lead. For Merrifield, it was just his second tally of the year.
Needing a lift, the Solar Bears received a man advantage situation early in the third. Held scoreless to that point, Orlando’s special teams kicked in when Baier nailed a shot from the left point that beat Ginn (35 saves) to cut the margin to 3-2.
The Gladiators were able to hold off the hard-charging Solar Bears until the final minute when Orlando head coach Anthony Noreen pulled Madore for an extra attacker. In the flurry of action in the Atlanta defensive end, Faille took a pass from Baier and sent the puck toward the net. Once there, the disc hit a defender’s skate and skidded past Ginn to even things up and give the visitors hopes of pulling out a win.
Neither team was able to connect in the overtime. The Gladiators’ Merrifield had the best chance of the extra frame, taking a pass and going in alone on Madore. Madore was able to anticipate Merrifield’s move, making a great glove save to keep the contest going.
In the skills competition, Barnett rifled a shot to the goalie’s stick side elevated that lit the goal light. Baier had a chance to send the skills competition to extra frames but after making a fake, his shot missed wide of the net to give Atlanta the extra point.
For the game, the Solar Bears outshot the Gladiators 38-37. In the power play stats, Orlando went 1-for 4 while Atlanta was 2-for-3.
The Solar Bears will be back on the ice at the Amway Center Saturday night at 7 pm when the South Carolina Stingrays make a return visit. The Stingrays defeated Orlando 6-3 last Tuesday.
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