ESTERO, FLA – If the Orlando Solar Bears are going to become a playoff team and make a deep run, they will have to first tackle their opponents in the South division. Right now, the Solar Bears need to figure out a way to beat their in-state rival before they take care of anyone else.
Ethan Werek scored two goals and goalie Rasmus Tirronen made 27 saves in his first appearance in the ECHL as the Florida Everblades (19-9-0-0, 38 points) edged Orlando 3-2 in front of an announced crowd of 4,184 at the Germain Arena. It was the Everblades third win in as many tries against the Solar Bears (10-9-2-3, 25 points) in the “Sunshine Cup” series so far this season.
Eric Faille and Brady Vail were the only two Solar Bears to beat Tirronen, who was assigned to Florida by the Carolina Hurricanes from AHL Charlotte on Tuesday. The undrafted player out of Merrimack College brought with him a total of nine professional games of experience – all in the AHL – but certainly did not look nervous or out of place in an Everblades uniform.
The battle between Orlando rookie netminder Ryan Massa and Tirronen started off in spectacular fashion as the goalies battled to a scoreless draw in the first period. Massa, who was playing in his sixth straight game since returning from a callup to the AHL Toronto Marlies, arguably had more difficult chances to handle from the Everblades but Tirronen was just as tough for the Solar Bears to solve. The closest either team came to scoring was at the very end of the period when Christopher Clapperton thought he had jammed the puck home but time had run out. Between Massa and Tirronen, the pair had 27 saves in the opening frame with Massa bettering Tirronen by one at 14-13.
The twin shutouts were both broken in the second period. Just 1:17 in, Corey Cowick threaded a pass to the front of the net where Werek was all alone. Werek calmly fired the puck past Massa for his tenth goal of the season to put Florida in front.
The goal seemed to loosen up the Everblades offense. Thanks to a too many men on the ice penalty called on the Solar Bears, Florida let loose with a barrage of shots that Massa somehow managed to turn away. By the nine minute mark of the stanza, the Everblades had built up an 11-1 shot advantage wit the Orlando goalie being the only one stopping the home team from blowing the game open.
As the period approached the midpoint, the Solar Bears created a scoring opportunity with a bit of pressure. It led to T.J. Foster feeding Eric Faille in the slot for a one-time blast that found the back of the net for his team-leading 12th goal of the season. The score came on the Solar Bears second recorded shot on net in the frame.
Florida shook off the tying goal and reestablished its dominating play. A failed clearing attempt by the visitors proved costly as Kevin Lynch fed Matt Marquardt in the left circle. Marquardt in turn slid a perfect pass to Evan Bloodoff who put a backhander past Massa to put the Everblades back in front.
Orlando survived the remainder of the middle period but the third period, specifically the first 62 seconds, proved costly. Intense pressure from the Everblades led to Matt Willows (two assists) setting up Werek for a drive that beat Massa high to the blocker side to give Florida a 3-1 lead.
To their credit, the Solar Bears did not give up. The visitors answered back at the six minute mark when Brady Vail, fresh out of the penalty box, put his stick blade on the rebound of a Brett Findlay shot and popped the puck over Tirronen to trim the margin to 3-2.
Inspired by Vail’s tenth goal, the Solar Bears began to open things up offensively, testing Tirronen on several occasions but the Espoo, Finland native stayed calm and cool between the pipes. Massa (36 saves) kept the Everblades off the board but his teammates could not find a way to score the tying goal before time ran out.
Florida finished the game with a 39-29 shot advantage. Neither team took advantage of the power play as Orlando went 0-for-3 and the Everblades were 0-for-5. Both teams will be on the road to finish the pre-Christmas part of the schedule, Orlando heading to Greenville to take on the Swamp Rabbits twice while Florida heads to South Carolina to take on the Sting rays in a pair of contests.
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