The Orlando Solar Bears were the ones on the attack in Friday’s game against the South Carolina Stingrays but did not have the results to show for those efforts. And that was perhaps the most disappointing thing of the whole game — even going back to Wednesday’s loss to the Florida Everblades.
It seemed like it was all coming together as the Solar Bears raced out to a 3-0 lead with two goals in the first six minutes of the game and a 4-1 lead entering the first period. The frustration returned as South Carolina forced overtime.
Then Brenden Miller saved the day and got the Solar Bears the critical victory they need to stay in the Playoff race.
Miller scored a one-timer off a feed from T.J. Foster to get past Vitek Vanecek and get just the second win in eight tries against the Stingrays. This final one may be the most meaningful with the stakes as high as they are.
Orlando continued its strong overall play, finally getting the results to match.
Brady Vail found Mark Louis for the opening goal less than two minutes into the game. It marked Vail’s 57th point (20 goals, 37 assists) of the season, setting a Solar Bears single season record. And it kickstarted the offense in the first period.
Eric Faille and Jack Rodewald added goals — Rodewald on the power play — and Miller scored his first goal with 1:50 to play in the period.
Up 4-1 it seemed like Orlando could go on for a romp. The Stingrays though have established themselves as the second best team in the Eastern Conference for a reason. And they were going to come back in their regular season home finale.
South Carolina scored twice in the second period and tied the game early in the third period.
From there Orlando had to find a way to scratch out a victory. They all matter. And that is what they did in finding Miller in overtime to score.
It is never a straight line for the Solar Bears.
The two points mattered though. The Solar Bears picked up some ground, pulling four points within the Elmira Jackals for that final Playoff spot. The Solar Bears have four games remaining — all against the Florida Everblades — and one game in hand. This was a game the Solar Bears had with the Jackals off.
The Playoff dreams are still alive, but barely. The Solar Bears will have to win — whether it is in overtime or not.
No matter how many times it takes, it is just win time.
Losing a three-goal lead only hurts when you lose. The Solar Bears found a way to scratch this out and stay alive.
