Shaw's goal forces OT but Solar Bears fall 3-2 to Monarchs

MANCHESTER, N.H. – The Orlando Solar Bears (7-4-2-0) earned a point but fell in overtime to the Manchester Monarchs (6-6-1-1) by a 3-2 score on Friday night at SNHU Arena.

Click here for the box score.

Both teams played through a scoreless first period, as Orlando outshot Manchester by a 13-8 margin. Both teams played a fairly disciplined game, as the frame marked the first time this season that the Solar Bears and their opponents were not assessed a penalty in the opening period.

The Monarchs opened the scoring in the second period as Spencer Watson completed a tic-tac-toe play to beat Corbin Boes at 4:04.

The Solar Bears tied the score just 19 seconds later when Curt Gogol threw the puck into the offensive zone, where Tayler Thompson picked the puck up along the wall and drove towards the net. As goalie Chris Dreidger attempted to poke the puck away from Thompson, Mathieu Foget recovered the loose puck and snapped home his fourth goal of the season at 4:23.

The end of the second period was abbreviated as a lighting outage forced both teams to the dressing room early for the second intermission; the remaining 20.4 seconds of the middle frame were completed at the end of the intermission.

Once the third frame got underway, Watson put Manchester ahead again off a face-off win by Michael Doherty, as Watson quickly fired a shot past the glove of Boes at the 9:11 mark.

The Solar Bears forced overtime with a game-tying goal with less than a minute in regulation after Watson was whistled for cross-checking Trevor Olson at 18:17. With the man advantage and Boes pulled for an extra skater, Cody Donaghey fed Brady Shaw at the right circle, who snapped the tying-score past Dreidger at 19:10 for his eighth of the season.

Stepan Falkovsky lifted the Monarchs past the Solar Bears in overtime after he fended off an Orlando defender and beat Boes 1:10 into the extra session.

Boes took the overtime loss with 25 saves on 28 shots against; Dreidger picked up the win with 32 stops on 34 shots against.

NOTABLES

• Foget’s goal extends the rookie forward’s point streak to four games (3g-1a).
• Shaw led Orlando with five shots on goal.

THREE STARS1) Stepan Falkovsky – MAN2) Spencer Watson – MAN3) Chris Dreidger – MAN

NEXT GAME: The Solar Bears continue their five-game road trip when they visit the Worcester Railers on Saturday, Nov. 17 at 7:05 p.m. at the DCU Center. The Solar Bears return home to host the South Carolina Stingrays for Wine Down Wednesday on Wednesday, Nov. 21 at 7 p.m. CLICK HERE to purchase tickets.

2018-19 Season Presented by XYMOPrint:

The Orlando Solar Bears are proud to have local digital printing experts XYMOPrintas the presenting sponsor of the 2018-19 season. As a special offer, fans who call XYMOPrint at (888) 223-9390 from now until June 15, 2019 and reference the Solar Bears will receive 30% off their first order of 500 business cards.

2018-19 Single-Game Tickets Now on Sale:

Single-game tickets for the Orlando Solar Bears 2018-19 regular season home schedule are now on sale. Fans can purchase single-game tickets for as little as $15 at the Amway Center box office, or online at Ticketmaster.com.

2018-19 Season Ticket Memberships:

Season Ticket Membershipsfor the seventh season of ECHL Orlando Solar Bears hockey are now on sale. Full and Half-Season memberships are both available, starting as low as $270. For more information, call (407) 951-8200 or visit orlandosolarbearshockey.com.

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 six seasons of operation, the team has qualified for the Kelly Cup Playoffs four times. 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.

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