Solar Bears take series against Railers in 2-1 shootout win

ORLANDO, Fla. – Mike Monfredo scored in the first period, Mackenzie Skapski made 32 saves, and J.J. Piccinich netted the deciding tally in the shootout as the Orlando Solar Bears (23-24-5-1) defeated the Worcester Railers (22-21-4-3) by a 2-1 score on Saturday night at the ARS.com Rink at Amway Center, giving Orlando a 2-1 regular season series victory over Worcester.

The Solar Bears remain in fourth place (52 points) in the South Division. Orlando improves to three points behind Atlanta for third place, with one game in hand; The Solar Bears are ahead of fifth-place Norfolk by six points with one more game played.

Click here for the box score.

SCORING SUMMARY

Orlando: Mike Monfredo (Joshua Winquist, Chris LeBlanc)

Goaltender: Mackenzie Skapski (32/33)

Shootout Goals: Winquist, J.J. Piccinich

Worcester: T.J. Syner (Tommy Kelley, Matt Lane)

Goaltender: Mitch Gillam (22/23)

Shootout Goals: Kelley

ON THE SCORESHEET

• Mike Monfredo tallied his fourth goal of the season to tie the score at 1-1 at 19:54 of the first period. The defenseman received a cross-ice pass from Joshua Winquist and drove the Worcester net before backhanding a shot past Mitch Gillam.
• Joshua Winquist provided the primary assist on Monfredo’s goal and scored Orlando’s first shootout goal in the second round.
• Chris LeBlanch picked up the secondary assist on Monfredo’s goal.
• J.J. Piccinich scored the decisive goal for the Solar Bears in the fourth round of the shootout.
• Mackenzie Skapski picked up his eighth win of the season with 32 saves on 33 shots against in regulation and overtime, and made three shootout saves including the game-winning stop on Worcester’s Nick Saracino in the fourth round.

NOTABLES

• Forward Hunter Fejes led Orlando with six shots on goal.
• The Solar Bears went a perfect 7-for-7 on the penalty kill, which included a double-minor penalty to Martins Dzierkals late in the second period, and a hooking minor to Chris Crane near the end of regulation that extended into overtime.
• The Solar Bears host the Florida Everblades in a Wawa Sunshine Cup Series game on Wednesday, Feb. 21 at the ARS.com Rink at Amway Center at 7 p.m. Single-game tickets for the 2017-18 season are now on sale at the Amway Center box office and ticketmaster.com.

THREE STARS1) Mackenzie Skapski – ORL2) J.J. Piccinich – ORL3) Mike Monfredo – ORL

About the Orlando Solar Bears:

The Orlando Solar Bears are in their sixth season of operation in the ECHL, the premier “AA” hockey league in North America, and are the proud affiliate of the NHL’s Toronto Maple Leafs and the AHL’s Toronto Marlies. The Solar Bears are owned and operated by the Orlando Magic and the DeVos Family, and play at the ARS.com Rink at Amway Center, the 2012 Street and Smith’s Sports Business Journal Sports Facility of the Year.

Fiesta Four Packs, presented by CenturyLink, are now available for purchase! Pick four games and get gift certificates to Sonny’s BBQ, Dick’s Sporting Goods, QDOBA Mexican Eats and a FREE center ice ticket to the our Noche Latina game, presented by Auto Justice Attorney Michael T. Gibson on Friday, March 23! Packs start as low as $64 and include $68 in FREE gifts! Click here or call (407) 951-8200 for more information.

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