The Orlando Solar Bears defeated the Norfolk Admirals 6-3 at Amway Center on Thursday. But they were not happy with their overall performance.
It was not the margin of victory. It was not the win or the opponent. That part of Thursday night’s 6-3 win over the Norfolk Admirals was fine.
The happenstance and lucky bounce it took for Patrick Watling to get a breakaway shorthanded goal early in the third period to break a 3-3 tie is solace, but a small one, for a game that was not up to the high standards the Orlando Solar Bears are holding themselves to.
With a roster chock full of players with talent, and the potential to bounce up to and push players playing on the AHL’s Toronto Marlies, the expectation to commit to the program’s system and execute it is becoming more paramount. Even early in the season.
“Good teams find a way to win,” Watling said. “Any day things aren’t going your way, you just have to figure it out and get the two points.”
The Solar Bears withstood a barrage of shots — 43 in total from the Admirals — and gave up four power plays in the course of the game. This after scoring three goals in the span of about seven minutes in the first quarter.
Rob Madore made 40 saves in the game and settled in nicely after giving up a goal just two minutes into the game when he failed to control a rebound, lost the puck and saw Greg Chase put the puck into the net.
“The positive is we scored six goals,” coach Anthony Noreen said. “The positive is Rob Madore made some big saves when we needed them. The only thing I think I’ll say is we need to get a lot better. There are a lot of areas that we need a lot of improvement.”
The Solar Bears responded just a minute later with their first goal, starting a string of three straight goals in about seven minutes. The forward line of Eric Faille, T.J. Foster and Lindsay Sparks scored two of those goals. Faille had two goals in the game, adding an empty netter late in the game.
Orlando’s offense went largely silent through the second and third periods, failing to sustain any real pressure. Not even the goal could put Orlando on the attack.
“I thought there were a lot of moments there where we possessed the puck,” Noreen said. “What we didn’t do was generate a lot of offense out of it. Our forwards have to get used to playing against big, strong defensemen. For a lot of them coming out of junior hockey, they are not used to playing against men. A lot of pucks laying around the crease, a lot of second chance opportunities that their big strong guys just pushed us over. That’s a mindset. You’ve got to be willing to score and get your nose in there.”
That will have to get corrected as the Solar Bears’ season continues.
Still there were moments that showed those flashes. Faille’s first goal, the middle goal of the three-goal stretch in the first period, was the kind of goal a coach can be proud of. Faille took a rebound after Foster missed a shot and wrapped around the goal to beat Phillippe Cadorette.
The Solar Bears’ first goal came from Christopher Clapperton, who took a rebound from an Eric Baier shot from the point and scored on the rebound. Those are the kind of difficult goals a team needs to win games.
Orlando was not putting itself in position to score those goals after that first period burst.
“I think Norfolk came out really strong,” Faille said. “We might be a little flat footed during the game. It wasn’t our best game. But we have a lot better in us. We just got to come out the ice and prove it to everybody.”
The Solar Bears got the two points. That is not the be all end all for the season. Orlando is in the business of not only winning but developing players and preparing them to play for the Maple Leafs system. There are bigger goals and expectations.
At the second game of the season, the team clearly seems to be learning the raised expectations the club has for itself and its players.
Orlando got the win with the brief glimpses and offensive flashes it showed. But there is still clearly a lot of work to do to reach these standards. This was a win, but not a happy one.
