The Orlando Solar Bears’ playoff hopes have dimmed and brightened throughout the season. They have put themselves in a hole and had to push and push to get back into the race.
The opportunity remains, but the team will need some help. And the help comes first from the Solar Bears themselves. They have to win. And win. And win. And win.
Doing it on the road is that much more difficult. Yet the Solar Bears continue to find a way. Through it all, they have begun to come together and scratch out these wins. They inch closer to the playoff picture.
At least there is a chance.
Thursday provided such a chance as the Solar Bears came out on top in a wild five-goal second period with the final goal. That equated to a 3-2 win over the Brampton Beast at Powerade Centre on Thursday.
The Solar Bears scored twice in about 90 seconds to secure the win. T.J. Foster scored about a minute after Brampton took the lead in the second period on a power play goal and then fed Patrick Watling for the eventual game winner.
For Foster, it was his 20th goal of the season.
Orlando did a good job controlling the pace and playing defense, preventing shots and keeping the tempo of the game in its favor. The Solar Bears are not always a high-volume shot team. And they will give up their fair of shots.
Neither team recorded more than 11 shots in any period as Ryan Massa made 28 saves on 30 shots.
The Solar Bears’ put on an impressive and solid performance near their parent teams in Toronto for their first trip to Canada. The team wore special blue and white Maple Leafs-colored jerseys.
The playoff picture too got a bit more muddied thanks to the Solar Bears and their recent win streak.
Orlando is now in 10th place in the Eastern Conference, as high as the team has been since December. They are now only four points behind the Reading Royals for that final playoff spot.
All the Solar Bears can do is keep winning. They have done that now and have more opportunities to do so with two more games against the Beast. Road or home, they have to take advantage of every opportunity.
[…] first game saw a barrage of goals in the second period with Orlando holding firm and getting ahead. The second game saw the Solar Bears pore it on […]