Garret Sparks came through Orlando for just a brief moment, meeting with media at a morning skate at RDV Sportsplex and joining the team in Estero to play the Florida Everblades and then he was gone.
Sparks made the start in the Solar Bears’ 4-1 win over the Everblades on Wednesday, making 25 saves in the win. His stint with Orlando was a short-lived one though. He was recalled to Toronto immediately upon their return and will not play any of the three games at Amway Center this weekend.
The momentary excitement of having Sparks back — announcement of his NHL debut shutout over Edmonton drew loud cheers at an Orlando Solar Bears home game — had to die pretty quickly.
But the Solar Bears have been largely OK in net so far this year. The duo of Rob Madore and rookie Ryan Massa have performed admirably in net.
While not among the league leaders, both have had their time up in the AHL with the Marlies and signed two-way contracts as they have gone up and down throughout the year.
Madore and Massa have essentially split all the games — 22 each entering Friday’s game against the Atlanta Gladiators — and put up similar numbers. Madore has a 3.14 goals against average with a 91.0 save percentage. Massa has a winning record of 11-8-1 with a 2.92 goals against average and 91.3 percent save percentage.
Those are solid, but not spectacular numbers as the Solar Bears have had plenty of struggles throughout the year. The two goalies have had moments of success to go along with the struggles too.
Being the ECHL, there is still learning to do. Massa has had to learn as much as anyone coming from a small college to get a look and earn a tryout contract and some time with the Marlies this year.
Both are solid goalies who have come up big in moments for Orlando throughout the year. The defense has had its breakdowns and both have stood tall behind them when the time has called for it.
The Solar Bears have known they can rely on both to be a block behind them.
