Having played four games in five nights, coach Anthony Noreen knew his team would have to be searching for energy. The team had cleaned up those previous three games entering the matchup Sunday against the Elmira Jackals.
No matter how many times the Solar Bears took control, the Jackals had an answer. The tired legs were getting the better of them as the Jackals fired shot after shot on Rob Madore.
There is a new confidence about this team. It started Sunday with the goalie, locked in from the morning, according to Noreen, knowing he would need a big game. And knowing his team would need to take advantage of the opportunities that would present themselves in the game.
And when the big one came, Solar Bears captain Eric Baier was not going to miss.
After giving up three shots in overtime and 55 shots in the game, Orlando got its first real chance to attack in the three-on-three overtime.
Baier came down the wing with speed and open ice in front of him. No one was going to stop him. And as Alex Vazzano crouched down to protect his near post, Baier fired to the top of the net. The puck knocked off the water bottle sitting on top of the net and the Solar Bears took home a 4-3 win to complete a weekend sweep.
“It was kind of an uphill battle all night, I thought,” Baier said. “I’m sure some of the guys will tell you the sam.e Any time we get those opportunities especially in a game like that, it feels like every step of the way gets harder and harder. You’ve got to take advantage of that and stay focused and take advantage and play with structure and protect the lead. . . . That’s the biggest thing is we stayed with our game for 60 minutes. That’s what we have to do.”
The Solar Bears had to be opportunistic to get their goals with the way the Jackals were firing at the net. Elmira had 55 total shots as Rob Madore made an ECHL season-high 52 saves on the evening.
Elmira was going to have its chances to get back into the game with that kind of volume.
The Solar Bears scored first on a goal by Baier when Baier whiffed on a shot and had it bounce back to him off the board into open ice. Defenders went below the goal line to follow the puck and Baier shot in and scored.
Baier just taaaaaaaapppps it in…#SolarBears pic.twitter.com/CdAy6cx77E
— Orlando Solar Bears (@OrlandoHockey) February 15, 2016
Jack Rodewald scored twice too on some deft passing from behind the net.
On his first goal, Brady Vail slipped the puck between two defenders to Rodewald right in front of the net for an easy score. He scored again on some killer passing on the power play when Lindberg fired it to Vail in front of the net who found Rodewald beside it for the easy score.
The confidence that has come from the Solar Bears the last few weeks as they have started putting wins together has changed the outlook. Giving up the lead three times in a game might have caused them to crumble, particularly with the team playing so many games in so few days.
“Good teams find a way to win hockey games,” Noreen said. “Bad teams find a way to lose. Tight games, teams that make runs, they find a way. You can say whatever you want about the shots tonight, look at the shot charts and where they were from. They are a team that will throw pucks at the net from everywhere. That is the way they generate offense. We’re not. We’re a team that is going to hold onto the puck as long as possible. We’re going to wear teams down and try to score that way. We had a lot of chances in prime areas.”
The Solar Bears have had to deal with injuries throughout this stretch in addition to the normal string of call ups — Rylan Schwartz joined Garret Sparks in Toronto earlier this week and new acquisition Austin Block literally went from the airport to the Amway Center after the team acquired him Friday — that have disrupted the normal rotation and lines. Defenseman Zach Bell was a late scratch after he warmed up and the team could not get a fresh body in before the deadline to submit a roster.
The team came together and scratched it out, committing to the style the team wants to play despite the fatigue and getting strong goaltending behind them to maintain the lead and stay in the game.
They got those chances in prime areas and despite only totaling 30 shots — including that one fateful shot in overtime — they had large chunks of the game where they were the better team offensively. Their shots were not always hitting net.
Noreen was absolutely right, the Solar Bears were aggressive and getting the puck in scoring areas and creating dangerous chances.
It did not prevent fatigue from setting in as Elmira had its chances and plenty of chances too as the shot total would suggest. The Jackals tied the game on the power play with about eight minutes to play on a shot from Kyle Bushee that bounced off goalie Rob Madore and passed him into the net.
Madore regretted those three goals he gave up, but stood tall in net time and time again, making some incredible saves in the process.
“Every night someone new needs to step up,” Madore said. “For the last couple of games, the back end has played great. It’s not just the goaltender, it’s the defense. Forwards coming back and blocking shots and finding lanes and making our lives a little easier. Some nights you need the goalie to stand up. Some nights you need the D. Some nights you need momentum with a fight. Baier stepped up in overtime and made a great play and came out with a win.”
The mentality from the defense though was to get those goals back if Madore gave them up. And every time they did. Rodewald and Baier took advantage and broke the defense down on several occasions. The Solar Bears never trailed.
Right now the team is pulling together and feeling some extreme confidence. They do not doubt anything they are doing right now and everything is clicking.
Even on a night when by all accounts they should not have had anything, they found something.
That was the hallmark all weekend. In each game the Solar Bears had to dig deep and find a way. Right now, things are rolling. And things feel much better for the Solar Bears because everything gets left out on the ice.
