MAITLAND, FLA – On paper, the ECHL South division semifinal series between the Orlando Solar Bears and the Florida Everblades might not seem to be much of a matchup. After all, the Everblades won ten of the fourteen meetings between the two Sunshine State foes during the 2016-17 regular season. Then there was the final game of the year, a 10-0 victory by Florida at Germain Arena one night after Orlando had clinched its first playoff berth since the spring of 2015 at the Amway Center.
If anyone figures that this series is cut and dried in favor of the squad from southwest Florida, they have not met the boys from Central Florida.
The fourth-seeded Solar Bears (36-20-7-3, 82 points) may be a bit of an underdog when it comes to a few statistical categories but when it comes to heart and confidence, the guys from the City Beautiful are near the front of the pack.
“We’re super excited. We just had a couple of days off so we’re all rested up. We’ve battled with Florida all year and there’s no more perfect time to take them out than the playoffs,” veteran Orlando forward Chris Crane said after Tuesday’s practice before the team headed to Estero ahead of Wednesday’s game one. “We have a special group in that locker room. The coaches have built it all through the year. We have a great ownership, great coaching staff. We have all the pieces to the puzzle to win a championship. We’ve got to go out and do it now.”
Statistically speaking, Florida (46-21-2-3, 97 points) was arguably the best in the Eastern conference. The Everblades were just as consistant on the road (21-14-1) as they were at home (25-7-4). They were dominant when leading after one period of play (21-3-1) and nearly unbeatable when in front after two periods (32-3-2). Florida was 31-7-3 when scoring first and a decent 18-7-5 in one-goal games.
On special teams, the Everblades were middle of the pack in both power play efficiency (16.6 percent / 16th best in the ECHL) and penalty killing (83 percent / 12th best). Where they excelled was in shorthanded goals scored (13 / tied-4th) and fewest shorthanded goals allowed (6 /tied-2nd).
By comparison, Orlando fared pretty evenly at home (19-11-6) and away from the Amway Center (17-15-4). The Solar Bears were very good when scoring first in a contest (25-11-5), outstanding when leading after one period (25-4-3) and nearly perfect when ahead after forty minutes (24-0-1). In one goal affairs, Orlando found its luck to be hit or miss at 9-6-10.
The Solar Bears were a much better team on the power play (17.1 percent success / 13th best) than the penalty kill (75.9 percent / 26th). When it came to shorthanded scoring, Orlando was just as good as the Everblades with four and slightly worse in allowing 10 shorthanded tallies.
In the head-to-head battles, a couple of numbers stand out. First was Orlando’s record at Germain Arena where the Solar Bears went 1-5-1 during the year. Second was the Solar Bears power play rate against the Everblades. Despite some late season success including a three-power play goal third period in a win in Estero on March 18th, the Solar Bears connected on just 6 of 62 opportunities – a dismal 9.7 percent rate. On the flip side, Florida scored on 17 of its 51 man advantage chances against Orlando for a 33.3 percent success rate.
“They’re a great team. They play well. They’re well disciplined. They have good structure,” Solar Bears head coach Drake Berehowsky said about the Everblades. “We just want to try to stick to our game and the team that makes the fewest mistakes will come out on top.”
When it comes down to individuals, both the Everblades and Solar Bears are stacked with firepower. Florida boasts six players with 20 or more goals scored during the regular season. Leading the way was Brendan O’Donnell who tied for the league lead with 41 goals to go along with 39 assists for 80 points. He was not the team’s leading scorer though as Brant Harris tallied 32 scores and 51 helpers for 83 points. Add in Matt Berry (24 goals, 44 assists) and John McCarron (24 goals, 36 assists) who each hit the 60-point plateau and Michael Kirkpatrick (21-37-58) and the Everblades are a squad that can score at will.
Orlando’s offense, which set a franchise mark for goals scored, was just as prolific. Eric Faille became the first Solar Bears to get to 70 points in a season when he scored 27 goals and added 43 assists. Faille’s lamp-lighting prowess was eclipsed by Joe Perry who netted a team-high 35 goals and chipped in 19 assists. Justin Buzzeo, who was acquired from Atlanta at the trade deadline, slotted in between Faille and Perry with a season total of 63 points (19 goals, 44 assists). Crane (18 goals, 26 assists) and Denver Manderson (12-35-47) both broke the 40-point level and and five more players including defensemen Brenden Miller (15-16-31) and Eric Baier (5-25-30) busted the 30-point ceiling.
The best battle may be between the pipes. Orlando’s Ryan Massa set a new franchise record with 22 wins including a pair of shutouts. Massa recorded all four wins against the Everblades. At the other end of the ice, Anthony Peters racked up 31 victories and two shutouts for Florida. Six of his wins came at the expense of the Solar Bears.
Massa, who is about to get his first taste of playoff hockey in just his second year as a pro, said he is excited to get a chance to backstop the Solar Bears to the next level in the post-season.
“The playoffs at any level – whether in the NHL, the AHL or here in the ECHL – are a whole different animal [than the regular season]. It’s my first experience as a professional goaltender in the playoffs and the post-season so I really relish the opportunity,” Massa said. “I’m super excited for it, fully embraced it and I’m ready to go.”
While Florida is an perennial playoff team (18 appearances in 19 seasons), many of Orlando’s players are facing their first ever porfessional post-season series. Baier, Orlando’s captain and lone holdover from the Solar Bears last playoff appearance in 2015 (a six game series loss to Florida), has been trying to empart his experience to the younger players – especially the part about never knowing whether they will get another opportunity.
“It’s a unique experience, I’ll say that. Before we made the playoffs, I told the young guys you don’t know when the next time you’ll get the opportunity is. It could come next year. It could come never,” Baier said “You’re time playing professional hockey is a short-lived one. It goes by like that. You blink twice and it’s done. You can’t wait around. It’s now or never – that’s got to be the mentality.”
Needless to say, both fan bases are stoked for the series. On back-to-back nights, the Solar Bears (9,555) and Everblades (7,703) hosted sell-out crowds that were ready for the playoffs to begin. Baier said that he and his teammates look at playing hard as a payback for the support the people in the seats give them.
“It’s a phenomenal feeling when you walk out and have that many people screaming for you and cheering you on and supporting you and supporting the city. It’s a big part of our environment here in Orlando,” Baier said. “Just the ability to be able to go out and put smiles on people’s faces and work hard and pay a price and win games in front of that crowd is a unique experience is a lot of fun.”
For Berehowsky, whose first Orlando team failed to make the playoffs following the 2012-13 “Out of Hibernation” season, a deep run culminating with a Kelly Cup championship might leave the gregarious coach at a loss for words.
“I don’t even have the words to describe that [winning a championship]. If we could do something like that it would be really special,” Berehowsky said. “I said it at the awards night. It’s about the people that are with this organization. It starts with the ownership group, goes down to the president, down to the coaching staff, the players, the training staff, everybody – even you guys [the media]. I think everybody cares about each other in this organization and it shows. Hopefully that will give us an edge.”
Contact the author at don.money@prohockeynews.com
Follow the author on Twitter @phnsingleaedit or @prohockeynews
You must be logged in to post a comment.