Piccinich lifts Solar Bears past Icemen in OT

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The Orlando Solar Bears (1-0-0-0) were paced by Kristian Pospisil’s two goals and J.J. Piccinich’s game-winner as they defeated the Jacksonville Icemen (0-0-1-0) by a 5-4 score in overtime on Saturday night at Veterans Memorial Arena.

Click here for the box score.

PLEASE NOTE: As of this publication, the ECHL box score has yet to be declared as final and may be subject to change.

SCORING SUMMARY

Orlando: Kristian Pospisil, K. Pospisil (Todd Skirving, Alex Gudbranson), Chris LeBlanc (Max Novak), Mike Vaskivuo (Nolan Valleau, Chris Crane), J.J. Piccinich (Joe Perry, Matt Hackett)

Goaltenders: Cal Heeter, Matt Hackett (W)

Jacksonville: Scott Savage , Everett Clark (Chrisian DiGiacinto), Alexander Goulet (Emerson Clark), Elgin Pearce (A. Goulet)

Goaltender: Jamie Phillips (OTL)

ON THE SCORESHEET

• After Jacksonville’s Scott Savage opened the scoring with a power-play goal for the Icemen at 3:32 of the first period, Kristian Pospisil took advantage of a turnover by Chris Dienes behind the Jacksonville net and snapped a shot past Jamie Phillips to tie the score at 1-1 at 6:22. Pospisil added a late goal to give the Solar Bears a 2-1 lead at 19:40. Pospisil also dropped the gloves with Emerson Clark at the 4:56 mark of the second period.
• Between Pospisil’s tallies, goalie Cal Heeter faced Emerson Clark on a penalty shot at the 13:20 mark – Clark missed on his opportunity, striking the left post. Heeter left the game at the conclusion of the second period, and was replaced by Matt Hackett at the start of the third frame.
• Chris LeBlanc netted his first professional goal for Orlando at 12:25 of the second period when he buried a pass from Max Novak that was swept through the Jacksonville crease, giving Orlando a 3-1 lead.
• Jacksonville’s Everett Clark scored a late second period goal at 14:54 to draw the Icemen back to within one, making the score 3-2 in favor of the Solar Bears.
• After leading Orlando in the preseason with two goals, Mike Vaskivuo extended the Solar Bears lead in the third period following a face-off win by Chris Crane at the right circle in the attacking zone. Crane’s draw made its way back to Nolan Valleau, who brought the puck behind the Jacksonville net and fed Vaskivuo for a back-door tap-in at the left post at 4:14 to make it 4-2 in favor of the Solar Bears.
• The Icemen drew level with goals from Alexander Goulet at 13:32, and Elgin Pearce at 15:01, sending the game to overtime.
• J.J. Piccinich netted the OT-winner for Orlando in a back-and-forth extra fram shortly following a clutch stop by Hackett on a breakaway attempt by Emerson Clark. Piccinich brought the puck from the left corner towards the front of the Icemen net and after his initial attempt was stopped by Phillips, the rookie jammed the puck over the goal line at 4:09 to secure the 5-4 victory for Orlando.

NOTABLES

• Orlando is now 3-2-1-0 in season-opening games; the Solar Bears earned their first-ever road win to begin a season.
• The Solar Bears will now journey to Texas for a two-game set against the Allen Americans before returning home for Opening Weekend against the Atlanta Gladiators on Saturday, Oct. 28 at 7 p.m. and Sunday, Oct. 29 at 1:30 p.m. Fans can purchase BOGO tickets for both games, presented by Coors Light, by visiting com/coors.

THREE STARS1) J.J. Piccinich – ORL2) Alexander Goulet – JAX3) Emerson Clark – JAX

The Orlando Solar Bears drop the puck on their 2017-18 home schedule on Saturday, Oct. 28 against the Atlanta Gladiators at the ARS.com Rink at Amway Center. Single-game tickets for the 2017-18 season are now on sale at the Amway Center box office and ticketmaster.com.

The Orlando Solar Bears are the proud ECHL affiliate of the NHL’s Toronto Maple Leafs and AHL’s Toronto Marlies, and play all of their home games at the ARS.com Rink at Amway Center, the 2012 Street and Smith’s Sports Business Journal Sports Facility of the Year.

Full Season Ticket Memberships for the 2017-18 season are on sale now. Purchase an Orlando Solar Bears Full Season Ticket Membership for as little as $440 today! Click here or call (407) 951-8200 for more information.

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