Solar Bears doubled up by Stingrays

NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C. – Chris LeBlanc scored for the second straight game and Tampa Bay Lightning prospect Ryan Lohin recorded his first career pro goal, but the Orlando Solar Bears (0-3-0-0) could not generate enough offense to spoil the home opener of the South Carolina Stingrays (3-0-0-0) as the visiting team fell by a 4-2 score on Saturday night at the North Charleston Coliseum.

Box Score

The Stingrays scored first on the power play at 6:58 of the first period when Cole Ully snuck the puck underneath the pads of Spencer Martin and Mark Cooper swept the puck into an open net.

Lohin answered for Orlando at 15:27 when Brent Pedersen positioned himself at the left half-wall and flipped a backhand pass into the slot, where Lohin redirected the puck past Parker Milner.  

South Carolina answered shortly thereafter when Cameron Askew jammed the puck underneath Martin at 16:37. The goal was initially washed out by the referee, but eventually awarded to South Carolina after concluding via video review that the puck had crossed the goal line.

The Stingrays made it 3-1 when Dan DeSalvo scored at 1:05 of the second period, prompting the Solar Bears to replace Martin with Zachary Fucale, but Fucale was forced to leave the ice about a minute and a half later due to an equipment malfunction, prompting Martin to make his return to the net.

Andrew Cherniwchan extended the lead for South Carolina to 4-1 at 12:24 with a power-play tally, but LeBlanc pulled Orlando back to within two goals at 15:30 when he made his way up the left side and snapped a shot from the circle inside the far post.

The Solar Bears pulled Martin late in the third period in an attempt to close the gap, and despite the benefit of a 6-on-4 man advantage after Tom Parisi was whistled for slashing at 17:11, Orlando was unable to muster any additional offense to reduce the deficit.

Martin took the loss with 34 saves on 38 shots against; Milner earned the win for South Carolina with 26 stops against 48 total shots.

THREE STARS:

1. Andrew Cherniwchan – SC
2. Mark Cooper – SC
3. Dan DeSalvo – SC  

NOTABLES:

• LeBlanc is now tied with Ivan Kosorenkov for the team goal-scoring lead
• Kosorenkov led Orlando with six shots on goal  

NEXT GAME: The Solar Bears return home to face the Florida Everblades at the Jewett Orthopaedic Rink at Amway Center on Friday, Oct. 25 at 7 p.m. CLICK HERE to purchase tickets for this game.

Purchase Single-Game Tickets:

Single-game tickets for all Solar Bears home games are now on sale at the Amway Center box office and Ticketmaster. CLICK HERE to download the calendar for the 2019-20 season.

Order New Jerseys:

The Orlando Solar Bears will wear new jerseys for the 2019-20 season. An extremely limited quantity of replica jerseys are available for purchase online, with adult sizes available for $149.95 and youth sizes available for $109.95. Fans can visit bit.ly/OSBJerseys to place their order today.

2019-20 Season Ticket Memberships on Sale Now:

Upgrade to Solar Status and become a Season Ticket Member today. Season ticket memberships for the 2019-20 season are now on sale and start as little as $270 – CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION.

2019-20 Season Presented by XYMOPrint:

The 2019-20 Orlando Solar Bears season is presented by XYMOPrint, Orlando’s digital printing experts. As a special offer, fans who call XYMOPrint at (888) 223-9390 from now until June 15, 2021 and reference the Solar Bears will receive 15% off their first order and a free Orlando Solar Bears poster!

About the Orlando Solar Bears:

The Orlando Solar Bears are the proud affiliate of the NHL’s Tampa Bay Lightning and members of the ECHL, the premier “AA” hockey league in North America. In seven seasons of operation, the team has qualified for the Kelly Cup Playoffs five times. The Solar Bears are owned and operated by the Orlando Magic and the DeVos Family, and play at Amway Center, the 2012 Street and Smith’s Sports Business Journal Sports Facility of the Year.

Officially licensed Orlando Solar Bears replica team jerseys, apparel, and headwear can be purchased at orlandosolarbearshockey.com/shop.