The Orlando Solar Bears got their spark and stepped up for their teammate.
Darik Angeli boarded Zach Bell and quickly Rylan Schwartz and four other players from the Solar Bears surrounded him, knocking him down and charging a mostly lifeless and frustrated crowd at Amway Center.
Orlando got its seventh power play and finally converted sending a pass cross ice to Rylan Schwartz for the goal and some relief for a team that had gone nearly three games without a goal.
There certainly was some release in that goal that came too late. The mistakes through a three-goal second period were too much as the Manchester Monarchs won 3-1 at Amway Center on Thursday.
“I thought tonight we did a much better job of taking it there and trying to score ugly and dirty,” coach Anthony Noreen said. “That’s what you have to do. Unfortunately two of those that get called back where we did do a good job driving it to the net and trying to force it in there rather than trying to make a pretty play or a cute play. I think it took us a while to figure it out. Once we did, I thought the tables turned for sure.”
The Solar Bears had two goals waved off by early whistles in the third period, building on the frustration of the team’s lack of scoring. Both times the referee clearly blew his whistle, it was just unclear whether Manchester goalie Doug Carr had actually completely frozen the puck.
Those are things Orlando had to get by. Getting those opportunities was the sign the team was coming out of its offensive shell. The Solar Bears were attacking the crease and getting into good scoring areas, trying to do the dirty things it takes to scratch out a goal.
For much of the rest of the game, Orlando was trying to get too cute with the puck and could not sustain much of an attack in the second period despite hanging with a Manchester Monarchs team that dominated them the night before. Passes were not sharp and the team was not getting good opportunities. The volume of shots were there.
Orlando’s inefficiency came undone in the second period when Manchester scored all three of its goals. Manchester was willing to do the dirty work all night.
Alex Guptill scored on a rebound after Orlando goalie Rob Madore could not control the puck on the initial save. Derek Arnold scored from one knee in a scrum in front of Orlando’s net. And, finally, Mark Anthoine simply beat Madore stick side on a breakaway.
Orlando’s defense was not sharp in the second period after limiting Manchester to just seven shots in the first period.
Noreen said the Solar Bears defenders got outside too much, allowing the Monarchs to attack the middle. The defense was a concern all night.
“We want to press the puck and if guys are going to make plays we want it to be cross seam and far play,” Noreen said. “We want to be tight in our coverage everywhere. It’s something we’ve gotten better at. At times we make mistakes. When we do, we have to back each other up and bail each other out.”
That pressure was not there in the second period. Manchester was completely dictating the play and getting the better chances.
The Solar Bears’ aggression came too late. The attack was there in the third period it was them who went after the game and attacked. Manchester committed five penalties in the third period, a direct result of Orlando’s more aggressive and focused play.
It was a sign the team was getting the puck in areas to score and the team was forcing Manchester to commit penalties to prevent goals, Noreen said. Orlando put the work in late in the game to get those opportunities.
The Solar Bears just had to put pucks in the back of the net. And that has been the problem the last three games now.
The Amway Center crowd was certainly growing frustrated with each empty trip and each missed opportunity or opportunity simply conceded.
The team had visible signs of frustration too. Especially with two goals waved off, even if the whistle had blown very clearly.
“It’s human nature to get frustrated,” Noreen said. “What I keep telling the guys is you can’t be a normal human. You’ve got to be elite. You’ve got to be above that. There were times in the second period where I think there were a lot of things we needed to clean up.”
There is frustration growing there. The team still needs to keep its focus and precision for a full game. Orlando just needed to get to those scoring areas and finish.
