It was going to be a long, determined night for the Orlando Solar Bears with several transactions gutting the roster beforehand.
The Solar Bears were down to four active defenders with team captain Eric Baier signing a player tryout agreement with Stockton of the AHL. Coach Anthony Noreen said one other player was feeling sick and another got hurt in the first period. So the Solar Bears were essentially playing with “three and a half” defensemen.
To avoid a sweep Orlando would need some grit and an ability to withstand some bumps and bruises. The physicality for the Solar Bears slowly waned as the game went on. And it was time to hang on.
And fight back.
Because if not being down those defenders was enough the Kalamazoo Wings took the lead by holding the stick of Branden Miller on the rush to free up Lane Scheidl on the break. He took a shot which Rob Madore saved, but could not control.
And so with 84 seconds left Justin Taylor collected the rebound and fired it in for what seemed like a surefire two points.
There was no time to argue the call or lament the lack of defense. There was still some work to do and very little time to do it for Noreen and his Solar Bears.
The team gathered together during a timeout and discussed their 6-on-5 strategy. After chasing the puck into their defensive zone and nearly giving up an empty-net goal, the Solar Bears had to make their attack.
With time winding down, Patrick Watling worked his way from the circle into the slot, deking opponents and fired a pass across ice to Rylan Schwartz next to the goal. He put the puck in and assured the Solar Bears a point.
“It kind of took the wind out of our sails a bit,” T.J. Foster said. “But we kind of took a deep breath and said we still have a minute and a half to get the puck in their end, put it on net and see what happens. We got that one with two seconds left to force overtime.”
A point that could be meaningful later in the season. But so too might the one Orlando would eventually give up.
Ludwig Blomstrand digging out the puck near the goal and firing it cross ice to Alex Mallet just 58 seconds into overtime and helping the Kalamazoo Wings secure a 4-3 win at Amway Center on Monday.
Orlando had to show a lot of resolve down as many guys as they are down right now as roster moves get made — Noreen said the Solar Bears will likely make a move Tuesday before their road trip to resolve their issues with defensemen — and they played extremely physical for much of the first two periods.
Orlando had the better opportunities throughout the game and put the pressure on Kalamazoo throughout. The Wings had their moments though, particularly after going down by a goal. When they pushed for their shots, they seemed to find a way to get the puck in dangerous areas and really test the worn-out defense.
Forward Austin Block said the forwards were determined to help their back line as much as possible. Goalie Rob Madore had to play a big part in that too, making 33 saves and getting the friendly ping of the iron three times throughout the game. Particularly in the third period, he was under a barrage and stood up each time.
“I thought it was at times for those guys to get it up,” coach Anthony Noreen said. “I thought they battled. I thought they blocked shots. I thought they were tough. Evenin the third period, I thought we had the better looks. Just a couple of counter-attack plays where they were able to get their fourth guy up in the rush. Other than that, I thought we played a pretty good third period.”
Orlando controlled the run of play and took two one goal leads throughout the first 40 minutes.
The Solar Bears struck first on a gorgeous pass from Max Nicastro across center ice to spring T.J. Foster for a breakaway. He beat Joel Martin and gave the Solar Bears the lead less than three minutes into the game. He would add one more, receiving another gorgeous backhand pass from below the goal line from Austin Block to catch the goalie sliding to the other side of the net.
Kalamazoo had an answer each time. Kalamazoo tied the game in the third period with some gorgeous passing that found Cory Pritz in the circle for a one-timer shot. There were still moments where Orlando struggled to clear the puck and that is how Kalamazoo scored its first goal, stealing a clearing pass and going in on net for a 1-1 tie.
“I think we’re pretty resilient,” Block said. “It’s not an excuse but I think there were some good luck bounces not in our favor the last three games, which is out of our control. I thought we battled pretty hard. There is always stuff you can work on, there are always mistakes you wish you couldn’t make. It wasn’t a blowout. We didn’t win tonight, but there is always next game.”
That next game will come on the road as Block returns to Manchester for the first time since his trade earlier in February. Orlando finished its 15-game Florida homestand (one road game in Estero against the Florida Everblades) with just 15 points. That is not a great return for a team trying to get back into the Playoff race.
With the Wings’ sweep of the Solar Bears — taking the maximum six points and giving up just the one Monday night — they pulled ahead of the Solar Bears by a single point for 12th place in the Eastern Conference. That is just another team Orlando has to climb over to get to the postseason.
At the end of the day, even with the Solar Bears playing some of their best hockey of the season, the scoreboard can be the cruelest marker of all. Running into a few hot goalies and seeing proven scorers go into slumps at the wrong time could end up costing Orlando in the end.
The opportunities are running thin.
“We wanted two points,” Noreen said. “It’s tough at times when you feel like the guys deserve better. I thought the last two games, our guys based on the effort they put in, their focus, their grit and things like that, as a coach, you want better for them. You feel like if you keep putting in those efforts, keep being physical and playing the game the right way, you get rewarded.”
