The Orlando Solar Bears found a lot to get encouraged by despite a 3-1 loss to the rival Florida Everblades on Sunday at Amway Center.
The Orlando Solar Bears could easily be down and out following a two-game sweep at the hands of the intrastate rival Florida Everblades.
Certainly after the way the Everblades came into the Amway Center on Sunday night and stomped the Solar Bears, taking a 3-0 lead early in the second period and never looking back in a 3-1 victory, there could be room for some doubt.
Coach Anthony Noreen though was not going to hear it after the game. A team that was gradually taking control of the game, but not getting the bounces was doing the right things to build a winner. They were doing what the coaching staff was asking them to do and doing it well.
They just were not getting the results.
In minor league hockey, no matter how frustrating it might be for fans, the process and getting better for the big team is still of paramount importance.
Noreen was not focused on the score as much as how his team went about play. And even if it looked kind of ugly and it was frustrating not to see the tangible results, his team took a step forward Sunday.
“I thought probably not the best start for us, but once we got going from a process standpoint for us as a staff I thought it was the best game we played by far,” Noreen said. “Puck possession numbers were probably the best, scoring chances probably the best, odd-man breaks, every category but putting the puck in the net.
“You live with those when you play it the same way every night and you’ve given yourself enough cushion where once in a while a goalie steals one or you just don’t bury it. We’ve got to get to a point where we play it that way every night though.”
It is hard to quantify exactly what Noreen means by that.
The Solar Bears certainly had their chances with 42 shots in the game including a 26-13 advantage in shots over the final two periods. Of course, that does not speak to the quality of those shots.
Orlando certainly gave itself every chance to break through, the team just could not crack Anthony Peters or get the puck to the right person, in the right spot at the right time.
That appeared to happen for Florida early on.
“They stopped a lot of our momentum, Jack Rodewald said. “They are an older team, they used that to their advantage. It’s not so much what they did, but what we did. We had a tough time stringing together a full 60 minutes in both games. I think that’s what ultimately cost us.”
The Everblades scored on two somewhat fluky goals to start the game. Brant Harris opened the scoring a little more than five minutes into the game when his shot from the point was slowed by Ryan Massa’s glove-side arm, but trickled past him into the net.
Mike Cornell added one about four minutes later on a shot from the point that bounced off a Solar Bears player in front of Massa and into the net. Mike Aviani added his sixth goal of the season with a shot off a rebound.
They were the kind of goals teams just have to dig out and not really indicative of any problems with the rookie goalie who has stood pretty tall in net through his first four starts.
“We probably had about 30 of those chances where it was a shot from the point and a puck laying in the ugly area and just didn’t get it up for some reason,” Noreen said. “Those ones are tough for goalies. Those are going to be battles. But credit them for getting in there and scoring a couple of ugly goals.”
The Solar Bears got their own scrappy, ugly goal when Jack Rodewald collected a rebound off a missed shot from Eric Baier from the point on the power play and buried it past Peters. It was the collection of all those right events a team needs to score a goal.
There just were not enough of those throughout the game for the Solar Bears.
And it seemed like there was not enough energy for much of the night. Not until about the midway point of the second half when Mike Aviani and Gabriel Desjardins were both sent to the box for roughing and the Solar Bears’ Bret Findlay and Brad Richard took exception to an alleged sucker punch and mixed it up.
From there the Solar Bears took control of the possession and stepped up their physicality on defense. The Everblades recorded only four shots in the third period and never seriously threatened to extend their lead.
“I think if we play to our advantage and play to the system that we have as a team, there is not too many teams that can stop us,” Rodewald said. “That was evidenced when we can string together about a period worth of good hockey, there is not too many teams that can stick with us. We’re a young team, we’re still learning that you can’t play just 20 minutes in this league.”
Noreen said he wanted his team to play with that physical edge. He said he wants his team to be pesky and difficult to put away. And tonight, more than any night, he felt his team accomplished that goal.
Despite not being able to get on the scoreboard or break through for goals, Noreen said he did not sense any frustration on his sideline — save for maybe some struggles to enter the offensive zone in the power play, the Solar Bears went 1 for 13 on the power play during the weekend.
Everything was there for the Solar Bears to win the game, the result just was not there for them.
