GREENVILLE, SC – With the number of games starting to dwindle, the Orlando Solar Bears have some work to do if they want to make the playoffs. Trailing the Elmira Jackals and the Greenville Road Warriors by eight points with games in hand, the Solar Bears need every point they can get whether it be at home or on the road.
Marshall Everson scored his second goal with the Solar Bears in Thursday’s win (File photo courtesy of F. Medina & G. Bassing/Orlando Solar Bears)
Thursday night at the Bon Secours Wellness Arena in Greenville, Orlando again got balanced scoring and yet another superb effort from Garret Sparks in net as it blanked the Road Warriors 3-0. It was the second shutout for Sparks in three games and ran his save total in those contests to 101 stops on 102 shots faced.
The win brought Orlando’s overall record to 22-15-3-0, good for 47 points which is now six points out of a playoff spot. It also brought the Solar Bears’ record on this week-long, four-game road trip to 2-0 while upping their season mark away from the Amway Center to 13-8-2-0. A year ago the team posted a 19-15-0-2 record on the road.
For the second straight game, the Solar Bears came out of the locker room in an aggressive mood, taking the play to the Road Warriors (25-17-1-2, 53 points). The strategy paid off at the 6:13 mark when a Greenville turnover at center ice turned into a mini break in for Orlando captain Stefan Della Rovere and teammate Carson McMillan. Della Rovere used McMillan as a late decoy and drove to the front of the net where he slid the puck inside the post past Road Warriors netminder Jason Missiaen for his tenth goal of the season.
At the other end of the ice, Sparks was once again playing like an AHL-level starter. In one sequence during a mid-period penalty kill, he stopped Josh Nicholls on a stuff-in attempt and seconds later flashed his glove hand to deny a Ryan Hegarty shot from the point.
Shortly after the successful kill, Orlando got what would prove to be its lone power play opportunity and made it pay off. With less than a minute to go in the advantage, John McInnis fed the puck to defenseman Blake Kessel who was cruising through the slot. He in turn dropped a pass to McMillan who lasered a one-time shot to the top corner over Missiaen’s shoulder for a power play tally and his fourth goal of the season.
When Vinny Saponari rang a shot off the post behind Sparks early in the second, the Road Warriors thought they may have solved the big netminder. That was not to be the case however as Sparks continued to focus on playing his game and did not allow another shot to get past him. Following up on a 12-save effort in the first, he stopped another 14 in the second to continue perfect.
Sparks’ teammates got him a little more breathing room twelve minutes into the frame. Defenseman Carl Nielsen, who head coach Vince Williams has recently praised for stepping up his game, took the puck away from a Greenville opponent just inside the Orlando defensive blue line. He then made a perfect stretch pass to Marshall Everson who had gotten behind the Road Warriors’ defense for a clean breakaway. Everson made a couple of moves and tucked the puck into the back of the net to push the Solar Bears lead to 3-0.
Heading to the final twenty minutes, the Solar Bears defense knew it was on them to help Sparks record the shutout. That was evident early on when Jake Cepis busted it back to breakup an odd-man rush. Greenville pulled Missiaen (25 saves) with more than four minutes remaining in an attempt to create more offense but Orlando was up to the challenge, holding the Road Warriors to just three attempts with the extra attacker.
The Solar Bears will look to make it three straight road wins Friday night when they face Gwinnett for the second time this week. Puck drop is set for 7:35 pm.
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