BRAMPTON, ONT – A casual fan walking into the Powerade Centre in Brampton Thursday night might have thought they were in the wrong place what with all the Toronto Maple Leafs blue and white battling against the blue, blanc et rouge of the Montreal Canadiens. What they did see however was befitting a matchup of the two most historic Canadian members of the NHL.
When all was said and done, it was the prospects of the Leafs who bested the Habs future hopefuls as the Orlando Solar Bears (26-23-3-5, 60 points) edged the Brampton Beast (16-30-7-4, 43 points) 3-2. T.J. Foster led the Solar Bears with his 20th goal and an assist while Matt Rupert and Patrick Watling each added a score during a wild second period that saw five goals scored in a span of seven minutes and 38 seconds.
The first ever meeting of the ECHL affiliates of Toronto and Montreal in Canada was noteworthy enough for both teams to don the colors of their NHL parents. For Orlando, it was the next step in the chase for a playoff spot – a step that the Beast wanted very much to deny their guests from south of the border.
It was also the first game for both teams after Thursday’s league trade deadline. Each side was dealing with a surprising roster move from earlier in the day as Orlando saw defenseman Max Nicastro being moved by the AHL Toronto Marlies to Rapid City with the ECHL rights to blue liner Taylor Doherty being sent east to Orlando while Doherty signed a PTO in Toronto and offensively gifted forward Scott Howes was sent by Brampton to Missouri for future considerations.
The Solar Bears had a strong start but Brampton goalie Jordan Ruby, who was making his fifteenth start of the season, played like Carey Price in the opening frame. He continually thwarted the visitors advanced, making eleven stops along the way. At the other end, Orlando netminder Ryan Massa did his best vintage Curtis Joseph impersonation, keeping the Beast off the scoreboard with ten saves.
After two failed Orlando power play opportunities early in the second, life for both goalies changed dramatically. It began at the 8:04 mark when Orlando’s Matt Rupert cleaned up a drive to the net by teammate Rory Rawlyk, beating Ruby for his 11th goal of the season.
Brampton dug in and tied the score a little over four minutes later when captain Jordan Henry followed his own shot for a rebound goal at12:31. Henry had a clear lane to the puck after Massa made the initial stop and fired it home for his third of the season. Less than a minute later, the Beast power play connected when David Ling threaded a pass to the front of the net where Mike Hammond banged it past Massa for his fifth and a Brampton lead.
It took the Solar Bears just 57 seconds to respond. Foster took a feed from James Martin and made a beeline for the net, beating Ruby with a quick shot past the goalie’s blocker. Foster then became the facilitator, setting up Watling for the eventual game-winning goal at the15:42 mark. Watling’s fifth of the season also extended his current point streak to seven games.
The pace of the game slowed considerably in the third as penalties became the story. Orlando had three different man advantage opportunities – including a four minute double minor – to put the game away but Ruby (26 saves) held the Beast within one. Massa (28 saves) was equally solid, saving his best work for the final minutes when he stoned Jonathan Parker not once but twice in the closing moments.
Speaking with SB Nation’s Jonathan Species following the contest, Orlando head coach Anthony Noreen said that although he saw some good things out of his team there was room for improvement in the final two games of the set starting Friday night.
“I thought our start was really strong. I thought we certainly set the tone. [We] got a bunch of grade-A chances [but we’ve] got to put the puck in the net. In playoff hockey, you’re not going to get as many [chances] as we got in the first,” Noreen said. “We didn’t put the puck in. Now its a 0-0 game [and] next thing you know we’re down 2-1 and you’re having to come from behind. At times did we play playoff hockey? Yes. At times I think we need to be a bit more desperate than we were. Hopefully we’ll do that tomorrow night.”
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