ORLANDO, FLA – For several weeks, Orlando Solar Bears head coach Anthony Noreen has been stressing “keeping to the system” and that wins and losses are not as important at this point in the season. right now even one win by any means would be a welcome sight.
Tuesday night at the Amway Center, Noreen’s Solar Bears came back from being down two goals twice only to fall to the South Carolina Stingrays (18-10-2-1, 39 points) 5-3 in front of an announced crowd of 5,665. It was the fifth consecutive regulation loss for Orlando and left the Solar Bears (10-13-2-3, 25 points) winless in their last six contests.
“The frustrating thing about the stretch is we feel like it hasn’t been systematic breakdowns. It’s been just human error,” Noreen said. “You deal with those once in a while when it feels like it keeps happening. We’ve just got to find a way to avoid the big mistakes.”
One of those big mistakes came just seven seconds after the opening face off when Orlando defenseman Mark Louis mishandled the puck in front of his own net. The puck went right to Stingrays forward Jared Staal who put it up and over the shoulder of goalie Rob Madore for the early lead.
Orlando’s luck seemed to go from bad to worse four minutes later when Douth Carolina’s Brett Cameron made a centering pass from the corner. Madore got his stick on the puck but it sent the disc right to Colin Mulvey who fired it between Madore’s legs for his sixth of the season to put the visitors up by two.
Max Nicastro had two goals Tuesday / Photo Credit: F. Medina /Orlando Solar Bears
The Solar Bears finally found their offense and got on the board just past the six minute mark if the period. Brady Vail took the puck along the near boards and found a clear passing lane back to the point. Defenseman Max Nicastro took the pass and used a screen in front of Stingrays goalie (and ECHL Goalie of the Week) Branden Komm to fire home his third goal of the season to cut the lead in half. A minute later, Andrew Rowe pulled a classic spin-o-rama move to clear himself from Johnny McInnis for a shot that beat Madore through the legs to push the lead back to two.
“We bobbled the puck on the opening face off and spot them one early.We feel like we got right back in it [and] they get another one and now we’re chasing,” Noreen said. “Honestly the feel after the first period was pretty good in the room. We talked and I said this is probably the type if way it’s going to have to be to get out of it (losing streak).”
Those positive vibes Noreen felt between periods followed the Solar Bears to the ice for the second frame. Just 1:33 in, Spencer McAvoy fed Nicastro for another one-timer past Komm for his second of the game and fourth of the season.
“It feels good scoring and helping the team out as much as possible,” Nicastro said. “They count on me to shoot when I can and that’s what I did.”
Rowe had an opportunity to bump the lead back to two when he was awarded a penalty shot at the 5:43 mark of the frame. Madore, who had settled things down over the back half of the first, turned Rowe away to keep Orlando close while giving his team a much needed lift.
The Dolar Bears used the momentum from a power play to even the score with just over seven minutes left in the middle frame. Extended pressure at the tail end of the man advantage led to a scramble in front of Komm. Eric Faille gained control of the puck and caromed a pass off a defender to Vail who beat the a South Carolina netminder for his eleventh of the season and a 3-3 tie.
Madore (37 saves) continued to give his team a chance to win in the third, making two sharp saves on redirected shots. His luck ran out during a a Stingrays power play when he made three successive saves on David Pacan in tight before a fourth attempt by Marcus Perrier was blocked. The puck promptly bounced off the leg of Paul Rodrigues into the net for what proved to be the game-winning goal.
Komm (21 saves) was not busy in the final stanza, facing just four shots but was there when he had to be. A late Irlando power play gave the home team one last chance to tie the score but Nick Jones killed any hopes if a comeback with an empty net short-handed tally with1:06 left to account for the final.
The loss left Orlando with a 5-12-1-2 record against South division opponents. With seventeen more games against divisional does left including three this coming weekend against Florida, Noreen said things need to change quickly.
“Bottom line, the record against the South division is 100 percent unacceptable. The record overall is unacceptable. We need to be better,” he said. “At the end of the day, somebody has got to dig in and just find a way to make a play. As a group, we’ve got to find a way to not make mental lapses. As coaches, we need to be better. We’re not going to get down. We’re not going to point fingers; we’re going to point thumbs. I’m going to get better. The guys are going to get better. We’re going to keep working.”
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