It did not take long for the Kalamazoo Wings to get on the board and put the pressure on the Orlando Solar Bears. That pressure would never get relieved.
The Kalamazoo Wings scored twice in the first 3:35 of the game and David Gilbert added two more goals after his first shot went in to open the scoring for a hat trick in Kalamazoo’s 5-2 win over Orlando at the Amway Center on Friday.
“Their first shot goes in the net, and that obviously can’t happen,” Solar Bears coach Anthony Noreen told Jason Hall of the Orlando Sentinel. “We left the puck out front of the goal in the second one, and then it was 2-0, and you go from what could have been a pretty good start to chasing two goals.
“Teams are just too good in this league.”
Orlando has been playing well of late and took advantage of this home-heavy February schedule. But every point is important and the team has faced some difficult losses as the month comes to a close and road trips come up on the horizon.
The Solar Bears got important goals from Eric Faille, his 20th of the season, and Patrick Watling, his first goal since returning from injury.
Faille’s goal 2:12 into the second period brought the Solar Bears within one, but Gilbert scored twice to complete his hat trick before the end of the period for a 4-1 deficit. Noreen had to pull goalie Rob Madore to try to spark the defense.
“Tonight, we’re going to hit the reset button. We’re going to get a game plan for tomorrow. We’re going to get up, have some energy tomorrow and get ready to get after it,” Noreen told Don Money of Pro Hockey News. “That’s the best thing about this game. Obviously there’s a lot you could be disappointed at and be down about after this game. It’s over. It doesn’t change anything for tomorrow. Let’s get better, let’s improve, let’s attack the game tomorrow night.”
The Solar Bears were scrambling to stay afloat and keep their point streak alive. There was none of that in the end for Orlando. It is back to the drawing board for tonight’s rematch.
