JACKSONVILLE, FL – When goalie Mackenzie Skapski arrived in Orlando to join the Orlando Solar Bears, he got to town with a bit of rust on him from inactivity. Still, the Toronto organization and the Solar Bears coaching staff were confident that the former New York Rangers prospect could help with the netminding situation in the ECHL.
Orlando goalie Mackenzie Skapski (center) recorded his first shutout of the season Saturday night (PHN photo by Trina Kirk)
It has taken some time but on Saturday night, it all came together for Skapski and his teammates.
Skapski stopped all 22 shots he faced and three different players lit the goal light as Orlando (15-16-4-1, 33 points) shut out the Jacksonville Icemen (9-18-3-2, 23 points) 3-0 in front of an announced crowd of 8,176 at the Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena. Josh Winquist, Martins Dzierkals and Chris Crane all scored for the Solar Bears, who clinced the season series against their rivals to the north with a 5-1-1-0 record with two more games remaining between the squads.
Skapski’s work was key down the stretch as Orlando found itself staring down the barrel of a penalty kill that covered the final 5:45 of regulation when defenseman Sam Jardine was tagged for a minor for high sticking, a five-minute major for cross checking and a game misconduct that automatically came with the major infraction. The Abbotsford, British Columbia native stood tall between the pipes, making a number of saves to secure his first shutout since December of 2016 when he was a member of the Greenville Swamp Rabbits and the sixth of his professional career.
The second contest in as many nights between the two Sunshine State rivals began like Friday’s tilt had ended – with anger. Just 14 seconds into the opening period, Orlando captain Sean Zimmerman and Jacksonville captain Garet Hunt found each other and dropped the gloves in round two of their battle within the war that had started 24 hours earlier. The bout was the highlight of a first stanza that saw a limited amount of shots on net (a total of nine between the teams) and numerous power play opportunities (five total).
Jacksonville netminder Jamie Phillips, just back from a stint in the AHL with Manitoba, opened the second frame with a big save on Solar Bears forward Chris LeBlanc. The attempt was the first of several that Orlando poured on the young goalie but he was up to the task on all of them.
At the other end of the ice, Skapski was having a rocking chair evening. He faced just three Icemen shots in the opening stanza and did not see a puck on net until eight minutes had been played in the middle period. He was forced to work late in the period when Jacksonville’s Tim Daly had a point blank chance but Skapski’s glove hand was too quick, snaring what looked to be a sure tally before it crossed over the goal line.
The visitors from Central Florida opened the scoring at the 11:07 mark of the second with a goal that exemplified exactly what head coach Drake Berehowsky has been preaching all season. It started when Zimmerman dumped the puck into the Jacksonville end. Once the disc was in deep, Crane hustled into aggressively forecheck against the Icemen defenders. He eventually forced a turnover and fed the puck to Winquist who buried his 14th goal of the season into the back of the cage.
Orlando’s Mike Monfredo (purple) and Jacksonville’s Garrett Klotz dropped the gloves during the second period Saturday night (PHN photo by Trina Kirk)
The large crowd, which was sprinkled with many Solar Bears fans who had made the trip up Interstate 95 to the River City, was entertained later in the frame when Orlando’s Mike Monfredo and Jacksonville’s Garrett Klotz went toe-to-toe in a true heavyweight battle. Both combatants got in some good shots before the linesmen stepped in and broke the pair up.
Leading 1-0 at the start of the third, the Solar Bears found themselves in a defensive mode as the Icemen came out hard and fast in hopes of finding a tying score. Skapski made an early pad save on Dajon Mingo to help Orlando maintain its slim lead. It took the visitors almost eight minutes to get their first shot on net in the frame.
Toronto prospect Martins Dzierkals gave the Solar Bears a little bit of breathing room just past the midpoint of the final stanza. Rushing up ice with LeBlanc, Dzierkals took a pass and from the right circle drilled a dart between Phillips’ legs for his eighth goal of the season and his second in as many games.
Things were going in the Solar Bears favor until the 14:15 mark when the normally level-headed Jardine compounded a minor penalty with a cross check that was deemed to be dangerous and earned hom a major penalty and therest of the night off. It meant that Orlando would have to spend the rest of the game short-handed both literally on the ice and in the number of available defensemen to help with the penalty kill.
As is the case in many instances, it was the goalie – Skapski to be specific – who was the most important penalty killer for the Solar Bears. The former Rangers draft choice became a wall in front of his net, holding the Icemen at bay even when Jacksonville headcoach Jason Christie pulled Phillips (22 saves) for an extra attacker with three minutes left in regulation.
With a little less than two minutes left, Crane buried the puck into the empty Jacksonville net for a short-handed tally. It was his sixth of the season and his first since returning to the lineup one day earlier. From there, Skapski sealed things off to give the Solar Bears the franchise’s first shutout since Ryan Massa blanked Utah on March 10 of 2017 and the first whitewashing on the road since March 13, 2016 when Rob Madore kept Brampton off the board.
Notes: Orlando outshot Jacksonville 25-22 in the contest… Neither team connected on the power play as the Solar Bears finished 0-for-5 while the Icemen went 0-for-4… Newcomer Hunter Fejes continued to impress, leading the Solar Bears with seven shots on net… Jacksonville played without leading scorer Jimmy Lodge who was reassigned by its NHL affiliate in Winnipeg to the Manitoba Moose… The teams will meet Sunday afternoon at 1:30 p.m. at the Amway Center in Orlando. The final clash between the new rivals is scheduled for March 29th, also in Orlando.
Contact the author at don.money@prohockeynews.com
Contact the photojournalist at trina.kirk@prohockeynews.com
Follow the author on Twitter @phnsingleaedit or @prohockeynews
You must be logged in to post a comment.