ORLANDO, FLA – Trailing by one with 11:10 left in regulation, the Orlando Solar Bears were handed a gift by the South Carolina Stingrays: two penalties on the same sequence that gave the host Solar Bears a two-minute five-on-three power play. That was followed by a third infraction by the visitors, meaning that the man advantage time would be extended by two minutes.
It was the opportunity that Orlando needed to try to break out of its season long funk and maybe start a string of positive results with a win against one of the best teams in the ECHL. Unfortunately, what could have been turned into yet another disappointing miss.
Orlando goalie Clint Windsor (38, left) and defenseman Eric Drapluk keep an eye on South Carolina’s Mark Cooper (26, right) during Saturday night’s first period (Photo courtesy of Fernando Medina / Orlando Solar Bears)
Goalie Logan Thompson made teammate Matt Nuttle’s late second period score stand up by making 36 saves to propel South Carolina (14-2-0-0) to a 2-0 win over Orlando (5-9-3-1) on Saturday in front of an announced crowd of 6,772 at the Amway Center. It was the Stingrays fourth victory in as many meetings so far this season with three of them coming on the Solar Bears home rink.
The loss, which brought Orlando’s recent winless streak to four games, also dropped the Solar Bears into last place in the South division when Jacksonville blanked Norfolk.
“It’s [power play] obviously not working for us right now. We try and move the puck around [and] get some shots,” Solar Bears Head Coach and General Manager Drake Berehowsky said about the key sequence and his team’s failure to connect with the man advantage. “I think we put a couple [of shots] into a few shin pads which shouldn’t have happened. It’s something that we’re going to have to work on and we’re going to have to get better at it. The guys on the power play – if they want to continue to be on it – they have to capitalize.”
Berehowsky sent goalie Clint Windsor, who had not played since last Friday in his team’s 2-1 overtime loss to Utah, out to try to turn the Solar Bears fortunes around and he did his part. It took the Stingrays less than a minute after the opening faceoff to test the Orlando netminder when Andrew Cherniwchan pumped a shot on net that Windsor turned away.
It was just the beginning of a back and forth first period that saw both teams control the shot clock for a time before the opposition took it away. Both Windsor and Thompson were on their game, each holding the other side scoreless through the first twenty minutes.
The fact that the Solar Bears held South Carolina to no goals and 12 shots on net in the first frame was a significant nod to an improvement of the team’s defense. That improvement was never more evident than when the Stingrays were given 1:15 of five-on-three power play time during the latter stages of the stanza. During that time, Orlando allowed just one shot on net – a far cry from the last meeting between the two teams when the Stingrays fired 22 shots on net and scored two goals in the opening period of an 8-2 win.
“I think we’re playing alright defensively,” Berehowsky said. “Our goalies are stopping the pucks they need to and I think we’re doing alright in our defensive zone.”
Solar Bears defenseman Ryan Lohan (left) and Stingrays forward Max Novak battle for the puck during the second period on Saturday (Photo courtesy of Fernando Medina / Orlando Solar Bears)
The biggest excitement in the early stages of the second frame came when Orlando defenseman Cody Donaghey and South Carolina’s Dylan Steman duked it out near the Solar Bears net.
Once the crowd settled back in after the fight, they saw Windsor and Thompson continue their individual battle that was leaving both sides wondering how to find the back of the net. The pair traded sterling saves with Thompson’s highlight coming with two stops on Solar Bears forward Chris LeBlanc in quick succession and a stop from the seat of his pants on Tristin Langan while Windsor showed off both his catching glove and blocker to send Cole Ully and Tim Harrison away empty handed.
The tenor of the game turned in the final minute of the second when the Stingrays found a way to open the scoring. It started with Thompson making a save and teammate Max Novak collecting the rebound and heading up ice. Novak sent the puck to Dan DeSalvo who in turn fed Nuttle who was barreling down the slot. After fanning on his original shot, Nuttle was able to fire the puck home for his first of the season with 18.9 seconds to go before the intermission.
The Stingrays tried to run the Solar Bears out of the game early in the third when an early power play became a chance for a second score. Windsor was having none of it as he denied three shots during the advantage to keep the game a one score contest. Another ten-bell stop by Windsor on Harrison followed soon after, giving the fans hope that the goalie’s teammates would reward him with some offense.
Then came the crucial point of the game when South Carolina’s Ully was nabbed for tripping and before play was stopped Cherniwchan threw a cross check that drew referee Maxime Primeau’s attention. It was the chance the Solar Bears needed and it only got sweeter when Tommy Hughes was sent off for slashing – a penalty that would not start until the twin penalties finished.
The two-man advantage yielded two shots that Thompson stopped and Hughes’ infraction turned into two more but neither lit the goal light. It was disheartening for the players and coaches as well as the fans.
“I think we need to shoot the puck more. I know we’re trying to make passes and make seam passes and all that,” Orlando defenseman Michael Brodzinski said. “If we just shoot the puck, I think we’ll have better chances and get better success on the power play.”
South Carolina goalie Logan Thompson (32, right) looks for the puck through a sea of boding during Saturday’s second period (Photo courtesy of Fernando Medina / Orlando Solar Bears)
Just after the man advantage time ended, the Solar Bears nearly tied the game when a shot by LeBlanc leaked through the area between Thompson’s arm and body. It slowly slid toward the goal line but the Stingrays netminder was able to dive back and cover the puck before it crossed the line.
The final seven minutes of regulation became Thompson’s to shine the brightest. Orlando pushed eight shots on net – several more were blocked by Stingrays defenders doing everything to help their netminder – that Thompson calmly handled. Hughes then ended all doubt when he fired the puck the length of the ice into the empty Solar Bears net with .8 remaining for his first of the season to cap the victory off.
Thompson finished the final frame with 14 saves to earn his first professional shutout while Windsor ended the night with 35 saves, his sixth consecutive start with at least 31 stops to his credit.
Berehowsky’s building frustration with his team’s lack of offense has helped to fuel a string of player transactions. Saturday was no exception as forward Lucas Kohls was released and defenseman Taylor Doherty was traded to Fort Wayne for future considerations. Asked if trading Doherty was meant as a message-sending move or if there was more to it, Berehowsky’s answer seemed to indicate just how frustrated he is.
“I hope it’s a message-sending trade. I like Dorts [Doherty]. I think he’s a great player,” Berehowsky said. “He was a big part of this team so I hope everybody realizes that you can be traded at any time and we have to produce. If we’re not producing, then changes have to be made.”
As for Windsor and his netminding mate Zach Fucale, both are in the top five in save percentage in the league with Windsor at .932 and Fucale at .939. Berehowsky gave both credit for the work they have been doing while the Solar Bears try to find more offense.
Solar Bears forward Chris LeBlanc (right) and Stingrays defenseman Matt Nuttle match up against each other during Saturday’s game (Photo courtesy of Fernando Medina / Orlando Solar Bears)
“I think everyone’s frustrated. Fuchs [Fucale] and Windsor are both good guys.They’re supporting the team and they realize we’re going through a tough stretch,” he said. “I hope when one [break] falls, it’s going to start really falling for us.That’s what you’re kind of working for. We want to stay positive, we’re not going to get down. I think for the most part if we play the way we did tonight and you go to the net and pay the price like we did for most of the game, you should get rewarded. It’s just that right now we’re having a hard time getting rewarded.”
The two teams will meet again Monday night at the Amway Center with puck drop set for 7 p.m.
Notes: Final shots were 37-36 in favor of Orlando… The Solar Bears went 0-for-4 on the power play, their fourth straight game without an man advantage score, while the Stingrays were 0-for-6… Solar Bears forward Jimmy Lodge played in his first game of the season after starting the year on injured reserve.
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