Indy Fuel dismantle Orlando Solar Bears’ win streak

From the first shift, something was off from the Orlando Solar Bears.

The team that had won five straight games entering Wednesday night’s contest with the Indy Fuel was riding the confidence just a bit too much. A dose of reality that had come with the way the team had played for much of the season had to rear its ugly head.

And rear it did, leaving coach Anthony Noreen at a loss for words. The kind of effort his team showed through two periods was never going to get the job done. It had the coach at such a loss he joked about pulling his goalie and forcing the team to defend without one just to “deal with it” based on the team’s effort.

At least you had to think it was a joke.

The situation was that dire as the Fuel won 5-3, racing out to a 5-0 lead in the second period, outshooting the Solar Bears 30-17 through two periods and chasing starting goalie Ryan Massa from the game. Noreen said he felt sorry for Massa because his team was not giving him much of a chance. Rob Madore did not fare much better to keep the team in it.

“Awful start,” Noreen said diagnosing his team’s struggles. “Really an awful 40 minutes. The bottom line is right now we do not have enough skill in our lineup to not check 200 feet of the ice and not to play the right way. We don’t have enough skill in our lineup right now. I think you saw tonight what happens if we get away from our structure, if we try to cheat things, if we try to make moves at the blue line and if we don’t have a jump and a will when we start the game.”

The disappointment is certainly enhanced with the way the team was playing in the weeks leading up to this game. Winning all four games in a five-day span last week had the Solar Bears seriously talking about the playoffs yet again.

The Fuel struck and struck again, pouring it on the Solar Bears again and again.

Brandon Wong scored twice and added two assists. Alex Lavoie scored two goals too. And they came in rather easy and frustrating ways.

Indy was able to pass the puck with ease to score its first two goals, squeezing passes past defenders as Orlando struggled to get out of its own zone and sustain any offensive pressure, something the team had done so well during its win streak.

The Fuel would chase Massa from the game on the power play by knocking in a shot from the point on a deflection in front of the net. Before the team could get its footing under it, it was down a nearly insurmountable deficit and switching goalies.

“I don’t know how you could come to the rink and not be ready to play hockey,” Noreen said. “If you’re a hockey player, and it’s in you, maybe you make a mistake, I understand that. But to come out and not have heart and not win puck races and not finish checks and not win battles, I hope I never understand that. That’s the lesson that’s got to be learned. If you’re a hockey player, you show up and play the right way. Sometimes it might not go your way, but those first 40 minutes were unacceptable.”

If there was a shining light it came in the three goals the Solar Bears scored in the final 21 minutes of the game.

The Solar Bears got on the board in the final minute of the second period when Spencer McAvoy fired a shot in from the point that was deflected in by Johnny McInnis.

The momentum carried over as Brady Vail struck the first of his two goals three and a half minutes into the third period. Patrick Watling, playing his first game since Oct. 31, worked his way around the defenders from the blue line and then fed it to Vail alone on the other side.

Vail would deflect one more in late in the third period as the Solar Bears outshot the Fuel 18-7 in the period to nearly pull even in shots. Orlando skated harder and put more pressure on Indy’s defense, taking the game to it.

It was how the team needs to play.

“I thought in the third period, we moved our feet, we made plays. I thought our structure was good. Our ability to move our feet and spread them out was good. That’s the lesson learned. We told the guys, ‘Listen, we’ve had a good run here. We know we’ve got a great group of guys. Let’s not let this pull us apart.'”

The good news is the Solar Bears get a chance again at the Fuel on Thursday. It is too bad they have to wait that long to get this bad taste out of their mouth.